Italian school. Possibly Siena. 14th century. 'Saint Martha and the Dragon” Tempera on panel. 36 x 19 cm. Handwritten inscription on the back: 'Corisco 28 de Nbre. 1871”.   In this exquisite painting from the Italian Trecento, we are shown an almost life-like figure, with Byzantine touches, beginning to become three-dimensional, and revealing human emotion in face and hands (gaze lifted to the heavens in supplication and gratitude, and the gesture of hands joined in prayer). An idealized painting: an elegant figure against a golden background that proclaims her magnificence, her greatness as a “deity”, or as one elevated to heaven by her virtues and works. Two possible iconographic interpretations, but only one choice. The presence of a winged dragon trampled beneath her feet could indicate Saint Margaret of Antioch or Saint Martha of Bethany, both portrayed with “evil trodden down and defeated” beneath their figures. Yet Saint Margaret is here without the palm of martyrdom, the definitive attribute that identifies her as the martyr of the dragon that swallowed her but could not digest her and vomited her back alive. On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that in Italy, the cradle of this work, Saint Martha is more frequently represented and mentioned, both in official sources (history and religion) and in popular culture. And we cannot forget that Saint Martha of Bethany appears in the Bible, which means she is far more commonly depicted in religious imagery and painting, in art and in everyday life. With clear touches of Sienese painting, this painted Saint Martha has a more lyrical and stylized character, like a verse still within Gothic art, owing to the continued use of the golden background, a delicate line filled with precious detail. A medieval legend tells that the holy siblings Lazarus, Martha, and Mary of Bethany went to live in French Provence (southeastern France bordering Italy to the east) after the Lord’s Resurrection, and that they evangelized the region. On the feast day of this saint, that dragon is called the “tarasca” or “tarascón” of Saint Martha, a very popular figure in ancient folklore and present in many artistic representations as a symbol of evil, forming part of numerous processions (especially on Corpus Christi) and popular festivities down to the present day. The legend says that in the territory of Tarascon there was a dragon that terrorized the city. Besides breathing fire, it had six legs, the body of a bear with a turtle-like shell on its back and wings, and a tail ending in a poisonous sting. Saint Martha overcame it by sprinkling holy water upon it, chained it, and turned it into a tame companion animal. For this reason she is often represented holding a small bucket and an aspergillum, with a dragon at her feet. The Sienese school holds more faithfully to the Byzantine tradition of painting figures that are more static, like photographic snapshots, and of maintaining golden backgrounds, without ever renouncing a certain Gothic elegance. A “lustre punching” marks the saint’s nimbus or halo, clearly distinguished from the flatter gold ground. Great care and detail are evident in her ornaments, especially the brocaded, flowered tunic and the pierced and gilded edging of the band that borders her cloak. A subjective color range, very much in Siena’s earthy palette, lends this composition a notable lyrical expressiveness, keeping it “suspended in the mystery of the religious”. And there is an exquisite texture and finish to the skin of the face and hands. Line, color, and elegance underscore the perfection of this work, in a gentler, softer, and more decorative style, valuing all its beauty and spiritual expression, and revealing a new sensitivity.