The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence is a Renaissance era oil painting by the Venetian artist Titian, dated from 1558.

One year later, in 258 AD, Saint Lawrence, six other deacons, and Pope Sixtus II were martyred in a purge of Christians ordered by Roman Emperor Valerian.

According to legend, Saint Lawrence was burned alive on a gridiron which became an influential image through posthumous portrayals of his death.

[1] Titian's Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence was commissioned by the well-connected and wealthy Venetian couple Lorenzo Massolo and Elisabetta Querini as an altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria Assunta dei Crociferi.

Titian uses the contrast between these two bright spots and the rest of the painting, which is shrouded in darkness, to accentuate Saint Lawrence's mostly naked form and his outstretched arm which is reaching upwards.