St Dionysius (Denis) praying to the Virgin and Child for help to overcome the curse of Syphilis. Early woodcut from flysheet published Regensberg. German publication refers to it as the French disease. Italian-born patron saint of Paris and its first bishop, beheaded under Roman emperor Valerian, customarily shown carrying his head. Behind him is Montmartre, the hill on which he and his two deacons were martyred.