St. Martina

Artist: Pietro Berrettini – c. 1635 – 1640

Cortona has portrayed St. Martina as the embodiment of health and beauty even though she is said to have suffered numerous tortures, including being hung on a hook, before she was ultimately beheaded. She is shown holding the hook as well as a palm frond, a traditional symbol of saintly martyrdom; her right arm rests on a fallen structure, a reference to the Roman idols she refused to worship.

Her feast day is January 30.