St. John Nepomuk

German, mid-18th century
Wood, 9⅝ inches
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Most images of St. John Nepomuk include a crucifix and a halo of five stars, and many also give him the palm branch symbol of martyrdom. Here the figure holds an empty cross instead of a crucifix, and there is no halo or palm branch. The biretta, a common feature of his other portraits, is also absent.

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