Figure 2 Votive effigy of the executioner and a convict sentenced to capital punishment by beheading Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie di Curtatone, Mantua, 16th Century

Life-size votive effigies in Italy (15th, 16th and 17th centuries)

Valeria Motta has a PhD in the History of Art from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. She is an Associate Member of the Centre d’Histoireet de Théorie des Arts (CEHTA-EHESS). I wish to thank Gill Dilmitis for the revision of my English text Despite the fact that the reproduction…