Design for a Spandrel: A Roman Martyr and Two Putti–Saint Jude the Apostle 1573 - 1575

This drawing by Livio Agresti depicts Saint Jude, made with pen and brown ink with brown wash, heightened with white, on blue paper. Note the axe that Saint Jude bears. This is his most recognizable attribute and a symbol of his martyrdom, rooted in the ancient Roman execution methods. But before its association with Jude's death, the axe had a life of its own, far predating Christianity, as a symbol of power and authority, hewn from pagan rituals of sacrifice. See how the putto offers Saint Jude a wreath, an emblem of victory? The wreath motif recurs throughout art history, echoing the laurel wreaths bestowed upon Roman emperors, themselves mirroring the divine sanction claimed by rulers of ancient Greece. The collective memory embedded in these images stirs deep, subconscious recognition. The axe, the wreath – they are not merely symbols, but carriers of emotional weight, resurfacing, evolving, and taking on new meanings, a dance of cultural symbols across time.