Carlo Saraceni
The Martyrdom of St. Lambert of Liège

1618
Oil
Church of Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome

This painting pictures the assassination of St. Lambert by a member of the family of the mistress of King Pepin. The bishop had denounced Pepin for keeping a mistress.

All is dark in the composition except for the objects that summarize Lambert's clerical status: his mitre, the book, the crozier, the sleeves of his alb, and the hands consecrated for the sacred service. (Not strictly clerical although always worn by the celebrant at Mass, the alb is the vestment given to the newly baptized to symbolize that they have been "washed clean.")

Read more about images of St. Lambert of Liège.

Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.