Saint Agnes

In the sculpture by Crocetti, the saint is represented immediately after the martyrdom because she looks up with her arms wide open as a sign of acceptance of the sacrifice. Her mantle is puffed with wind and she has already received the halo of holiness. She has no iconographic sign that can distinguish her (usually a small lamb or the dagger through which she died) other than the long hair collected in large braids because in her hagiographic account it is said that, initially intended for burning, the flames miraculously split under her body and her hair suddenly grew to cover the nakedness to which she had been forced. The interpretation of Crocetti is extremely hieratic and the white marble sculpture is designed to be related to the mosaic behind.