Saint Agatha or Saint Margaret

In this early panel by Pietro Lorenzetti, a young female saint holds a slender cross and raises her other hand in a restrained gesture. Her identity remains uncertain: she has been called either Saint Agatha or Saint Margaret. Gold ground, intricately braided hair and the finely ornamented dress reveal the elegance of Sienese painting around 1315. Originally one panel of an altarpiece from Monticchiello, the work is now preserved at the Musée de Tessé in Le Mans.

Uncertainty over the martyr's name does not prevent a close description of the image itself. Her face turns gently, her hands form a delicate gesture and a narrow cross remains prominent. Those are visible facts independent of whether the saint is identified as Agatha or Margaret. Maintaining the distinction between observation and interpretation is especially important for medieval fragments, whose original neighbours, inscriptions or frames may no longer survive to guide identification.