Michaelina Wautier: Saint Agnes and Dorothy (1650)

(Museum for fine arts, Antwerp, Belgium)

A painting by the female Flemish artist Michaelina Wautier (1617-1689). This painting shows two young girl who are dressed up as saint Agnes of Rome, identified by the lamb, and saint Dorothy of Caesarea, identified by the basket with apples and the roses. Who these girls are is unknown (most likely they are sisters) but perhaps their names were related to these two saints. The choice for portraying the girls as these two saints is also perhaps related that both saints are patron saints of young girls. Painting from 1650