In contrast, see Carolyn Walker Bynum, _Fragmentation and Redemption_ p.
232 for a late 15th-c. depiction of an absolutely impassive,
very-nearly-naked Agatha hanging by her wrists calmly watching her
breast being twisted off with pincers while another torturer draws a
rake down her side. This is pretty disturbing as well! -- but so many
tortured saints are miraculously given not freedom from pain exactly but
an imperviousness to it, hence no loss of dignity in their martyrdom.
Anna Sander
Kristen Pederson wrote:
> Hanging on the wall at MNaC, a wonderful art museum on Montjuic in
> Barcelona, there is a little wooden statue of St. Llucia de Mur (c. 1300)
> having her (very large) breasts cut off. There seemed to be a fascination
> on the part of the artist with the humiliation of the saint and her pain,
> given the horrified expression on the face of the saint. It was quite
> disturbing.
>
> Kristen Pederson
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