Barbara-Altar (Schwaigern), detail 1510

Jerg Ratgeb's 1510 painting, "Barbara-Altar (Schwaigern), detail," depicts a scene of violence and piety. A male figure, likely representing a Turk, raises his sword to decapitate a kneeling woman, St. Barbara, a Christian martyr. The image exemplifies the anxieties of early sixteenth-century Germany, where the threat of Ottoman expansion was a potent reality. Despite the brutality, St. Barbara maintains her faith, symbolized by the chalice at her feet. This detail is a reminder of her enduring strength and the power of religious belief in the face of persecution.