Paintings and sculpture of saints have played and still play an important role in Christian worship. Their martyrdoms are examples of self-sacrifice which should be followed by believers, and saints also act as intermediaries between worshippers and God. In the Roman Catholic and eastern Orthodox churches their images are still an essential part of religious life. However most Protestant countries underwent periods of iconoclasm in which images were banned and destroyed.
Individual saints are usually identified in art by symbols of their life or martyrdom, such as Saint Catherine and the wheel on which she was crucified: Saint James’s pilgrim staff and hat refer to his legendary mission to Spain; Saint Sebastian is shown almost naked and pierced with arrows.
