Heilige Agnes c. 1470 - 1491

This engraving of Saint Agnes was made in Germany in the late fifteenth century by Martin Schongauer. Saint Agnes, a virgin martyr, is portrayed here with the symbols that defined the visual codes of her sainthood. She is holding the palm branch of martyrdom and a book that signifies her faith. A lamb, or ‘Agnus Dei,’ sits at her feet, a visual pun on her name. The social history of this work lies in its religious context. Schongauer lived at a time when religious imagery was used to shape and reinforce cultural norms, particularly within the Catholic Church. Prints such as this one would have been circulated among the rising merchant class, solidifying the Church’s teachings through widely accessible imagery. The artist’s technical skill, evident in the fine lines and detailed textures, would have enhanced the image’s persuasive power. To fully understand this image, we, as historians, look at the material and cultural conditions that produced it. This includes studying religious texts, social histories, and the artist's biography, to better reflect on art’s meaning as something that is contingent on social and institutional context.