"Witch, Whore, Saint?" - based on the true story of the short life of Agnes B.

Defamed as a whore and condemned as a witch, the young and beautiful Agnes Bernauer was glorified almost like a saint after she was killed in a system, that didn’t tolerate love between aristocrats and the common people back in the 15th century.

This is the third time I created an artwork about her tragic life and love story, now concentrating on the question, who she really was after all...

She was the daughter of the owner of a public bath. Back in the 15th century, these places had a somewhat red light district touch, which didn't necessarily help her reputation.

The painting shows Agnes in these three roles which were imposed on her, all placed in a kind of gothic structure, to add a reference to the time when she lived. Nevertheless I drew her, how she might look today, raising the question, what would happen, if a leading politician wanted to have a relationship with the "pretty woman" (😉).

The young duke Albrecht of Bavaria fell madly in love with her and although it wasn't tolerated by those in power, they got married. To get rid of her, Albrecht's father had her tried as a witch and she was drowned in the river Danube, only some 25 miles from where I live.

The central area of the painting shows the hands of Albrecht and Agnes, connected by their wedding band and trying to hold on to each other. But their love wasn't meant to be and she is pulled down by the evil forces.

After a sequence of events and Albrecht finally marrying a "real" princess, a chapel was built in remembrance of Agnes and her reputation changed to that of the angel to the right in the painting. She is well remembered to this day, Carl Orff wrote a piece on last days of her life and there is also a festival in the town where she was murdered.

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Digitally altered painting, which was originally done in graphite pencil on glass