Saint Apollonia 333 by Andy Warhol presents a frontal, solemn figure set against a cracked yellow ground that evokes aged fresco. Saint Apollonia stands upright, her body rendered in muted grays and soft whites, with thin red accents at the neckline and waist. Warhol preserves the surface fissures from the Renaissance source image, allowing the cracks to remain visible across the figure and background. Her face appears calm and restrained, while her hands hold a tooth with pliers, positioned clearly at the center. The overall tone feels quiet and devotional rather than theatrical, with color used sparingly to heighten focus and stillness.
Reimagining a Renaissance Martyr
Saint Apollonia 333 is a screenprint from Warhol’s 1984 Saint Apollonia portfolio. In this series, Warhol brings the patron saint of dentistry and toothaches into a contemporary visual language. By recreating her image, he treats Apollonia with the same seriousness he granted celebrities and political figures. The original painting, attributed to Piero della Francesca and dated circa 1455–1460, serves as the compositional foundation for the print.
According to Catholic tradition, Apollonia suffered martyrdom during anti-Christian violence in Alexandria, Egypt, in the mid-second century. Mobs tortured her by breaking and removing her teeth, which led to her veneration as the patron saint of dentistry. Warhol emphasizes this history by depicting her holding a tooth with pliers. A letter by Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, recounts her fate in vivid detail, describing her refusal to renounce her faith and her death by fire. Warhol does not dramatize this violence. Instead, he allows the symbolism to speak through restraint.
Saint Apollonia 333 as Part of Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Compared to Warhol’s other Saint Apollonia prints, Saint Apollonia 333 most closely resembles the Renaissance original. He retains similar colors and avoids aggressive cropping. He also keeps the aged cracks of the source image, rather than covering them with bold overlays. By contrast, works such as Birth of Venus, St. George and the Dragon, and The Annunciation feature heavier color intervention. Here, Warhol shows unusual restraint, which gives the image its devotional gravity.
Warhol grew up attending church and remained a practicing Catholic throughout his life. Consequently, that faith informs his sustained interest in religious imagery. As an artist who lived with chronic illness, Apollonia’s story may have carried personal resonance. Today, the original five-hundred year old painting hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Revolver Gallery holds all works from Warhol’s Saint Apollonia series, including 330, 331, and 332.
