Saint Margaret of Cortona

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a seated woman with closed eyes, seen from the waist up. She is on the left side of the painting, her body turned to the right and her head facing us. She has pale skin, a white cloth covering their hair, and a black cloak over a black dress with long sleeves. She appears to be sleeping, her eyes closed and her expression neutral. In the bottom left corner, a small black-and-white dog looks up at her, its paws resting on her back. In the background on the right is a white cross with a white male figure hanging from it. He has a cloth wrapped around his waist and a crown of thorns on his head. Behind the cross is a blue sky with white and gray clouds. The top, bottom, and right edges of the painting have reddish-brown borders that blend into the sky.