Martyrdom of Saint Margaret
The original, as its museum records it
Every line above is reproduced from the holding institution’s own catalogue entry, which is linked. Where their title, date or attribution differs from ours, theirs is the one printed here.
The file this print is made from
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About this painting
In the Golden Legend the headsman refuses. God forbid that I should slay the virgin of Christ; Margaret orders him: if you do it not, you may have no part with me. Cesari paints what follows. She kneels, fingertips pressed together; beside her the bare-chested man twists round and draws.
The Legend has a voice from heaven say the gates are open. Overhead, the answer: Mary and the Child, one man with a key, one with a sword, an angel bringing crown and palm. The dragon, whose swallowing of her the Legend says is apocryphal, lies pinned under a shield.
Sources: Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend, 'Saint Margaret', William Caxton's translation (1483), as hosted by UC Davis Medieval Studies. · National Gallery of Art, Washington, provenance listing 'Spanish Royal Collection' (canonical https://www.nga.gov/artists/21627-spanish-royal-collection), entry and image description for Martyrdom of Saint Margaret, read 2026-08-31 and 2026-09-01. · National Gallery of Art, Washington, 'Martyrdom of Saint Margaret', accession 1984.4.1, exhibition history and bibliography, read 2026-09-01. · National Gallery of Art, Washington, artist page 'Giuseppe Cesari'. · Artsy, National Gallery of Art partner record, 'Martyrdom of Saint Margaret'.
Printed on demand. Public-domain masterwork, reproduced from a 6,598 px master of the original. The whole image is printed — never cropped to fit the sheet — so every sheet carries an archival margin, and the dimensions and resolution listed above are the ones you receive.