Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, Giambattista Pittoni, 1735

In the left foreground is a woman half-reclining who shields her eyes with her left arm. To the right stands a dog. Above and behind the woman kneels a helmeted soldier. The twisted body of a bearded man (saint bartholomew) at center lies on an elevated platform. His raised arms are tied with ropes to wood posts. A man trips the skin from bartholomew's left underarm with a knife. Others figures stand behind and around bartholomew. In the upper register at right is a seated man. Behind him, a curtain is drawn back by a cord to reveal a large stone column. A statue of a female holding a spear and bow is at the upper left. A pair of angels with arms linked hovers in the blue sky over the scene. Object Type: painting. Genre: religious art. Date: 1735. Place of creation: Venice. Dimensions: height: 69.5 cm (27.3 in); width: 35.8 cm (14.1 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Depicted People: Bartholomew the Apostle. Depicted Place: Albanopolis. Collection: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Giovanni Battista Pittoni, Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, 1735