Saint Apollonia

This 1627-1629 portrait of Saint Apollonia by Bernardo Strozzi hangs in the Baltimore Museum of Art on the John's Hopkins campus in Baltimore, Maryland.

Pincers, a tooth, and the palm branch of a martyr identify St. Apollonia, the patron saint of dentists and all who seek relief from toothaches. St. Apollonia lost her teeth during an anti-Christian riot in the third century, when she refused to recant her Christian beliefs,

They seized her, broke out all her teeth with blows on her jaws, and piling up a bonfire before the city, threatened to burn her alive if she refused to recite with them their blasphemous sayings, But she asked for a brief delay and without flinching leapt into the fire and was consumed. – Dionysius, The Bishop of Alexandria (247-265)

While written accounts describe Apollonia as an “Aged Virgin,” Strozzi, a former Capuchin monk, presents the saint as a rosy cheeked young woman, whose brilliant red ribbon draws more attention than her wisp of a halo. Dramatic lighting and loose brushwork typify Strozzi’s baroque style. -- Baltimore Museum of Art.