Martyrdom of Saint Martina

A talented painter and stucco decorator, Antonio Gherardi made relatively few prints. Among the first works of his career was a six-part etching series narrating the martyrdom of Saint Martina. In this fourth scene, Martina, after her refusal to worship the pagan gods, is tortured with iron rods that eventually will inflict 118 wounds to her flesh. After continued torture, which included a bath in hot oil, she was beheaded. Her wounds were said to have bled milk, leading to her canonization as the patron saint of nursing mothers.