Saint Vincent, left hand resting on a grill, from "Piccoli Santi" (Small Saints) 1495 - 1532

Marcantonio Raimondi made this engraving of Saint Vincent in Italy in the early 16th century, as part of his series ‘Piccoli Santi’. Here, the saint is a young man holding the gridiron of his martyrdom, and the palm of his triumph. It is, of course, a devotional image, but we can use it to consider the social role of the church in this period. For example, the formal qualities of the image, such as the fine lines and small scale, are typical of prints made for private devotion. More broadly, the image is testimony to the power of the Catholic Church in early modern Italy. Historians study these visual clues alongside historical documents to understand the complex relationship between art, religion, and society. The study of prints and popular imagery shows us how the church was using visual media to shape and control the beliefs of its followers.