The Passion of St. Agatha
Circa 1410-1420
Fresco? (The photographer calls it a painting.)
West wall of the nave, parish church of Eriskirch, Germany
St. Agatha hangs from a crossbar supported by a Y-shaped riser, the artist's way of rendering Quintianus's order that she be "suspended on a rack" (in equuleo suspendi). Apparently unaware of what an equuleus might be, the artist has the saint suspended from a low gibbet. See our page on
a similar image for a discussion of medieval understandings of the term equuleus.
The two men are using pincers to remove the saint's breasts, a further torment ordered by Quintianus.
Read more about images of Saint Agatha.
Source: Andreas Praefcke via this page at Wikimedia Commons.
