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This painting is one of the two side panels of a triptych representing Sts Hilduardus and Christiana. The central panel disappeared shortly after 1945. St Christiana is supposed to be a Scottish or Anglo-Saxon princess who was raised in a pagan family. After her conversion to Christianity she crossed the channel and settled in the Netherlands. After her death she was regarded as a saint by the people of the area. During the Norman invasions her remains were transferred to Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Dendermonde. She became patron saint of the city.
As a pupil of Adam Elsheimer in Rome he painted mainly cabinet-sized landscapes inspired by his master, and staffed with small historical scenes. But between 1617 and 1620 Teniers also produced several large-scale religious compositions. In these paintings some of the figures are clearly related to the heroic figures of saints in the altarpieces Rubens had done for churches in Antwerp in the first years after his return from Italy.
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