Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787) "Martyrdom of Saint Lucy" (1759) Oil on canvas Located in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, Spain Saint Lucy, also called Saint Lucia, was a...

Saint Lucy, virgin martyr who was one of the earliest Christian saints to achieve popularity. Because of various traditions associating her name with light, she came to be thought of as the patron of sight and was depicted by medieval artists carrying a dish containing her eyes.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

"Hallow the vespers and December of our life, O martyred Lucy: Console our solstice with your friendly day." – from Thomas Merton's poem for St Lucy. This statue of the saint from Catania who was martyred under the persecutions of Diocletian c.304 is in a church in Boston.