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Oil on canvas. This scene of an angel trying to place a ring on a young woman’s finger is rare in iconography. Based on this attribute, the painting may portray Agnes, a beautiful, noble young woman from a wealthy Roman family who was courted by many young men. However, Agnes rejected them all, because at the age of 13 she decided to devote herself solely to Jesus Christ. She underwent the most difficult test, emerging as a pure, faithful, victorious martyr. She became one of the first early Christian saints from time of Christian persecution under Emperor Diocletian to be venerated, and her veneration quickly expanded throughout the Western church. The legend of her life dates to as early as the 4th century. Saint Ambrose was instrumental in this; she is also commemorated in the Chronography of 354: “He pledged my troth with the ring of faith and adorned me with a necklace of beauty. Having loved Him, I am chaste; having touched Him, I am pure; having received Him, I am maiden.” The legend is also described in the Golden Legend by Blessed Jacobus de Varagine. Besides the beautiful youthful face of the young woman and the angel representing Christ in the painting, the implied natural setting and the cultivated color amplify the natural sensitivity of the painting. Rome, whose cultural significance rose during the High Renaissance, when it was the home of Michelangelo, Raphael and their students, later became the cradle of Baroque (Caravaggio) and the most important center of Italian painting in the 17th century. Consulted with PhDr. Hana Seifertová.