Dirck Volkertsz. Coornhert made this engraving after a drawing by Maerten van Heemskerk, now at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. It was part of a series of eight images titled The Triumph of Patience (Patientiae Triumphus). Triumphal processions were a common theme in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and in the Low Countries, often took on an allegorical element, as seen here with the allegory of patience. This series was popular and was reprinted several times. In this particular image, Saint Stephen sits on an elephant, head raised, carrying a banner depicting Charity (a woman surrounded by children). The saint leads his two executioners, who hurl stones at him. The church in the background may be the Church of Saint Stephen in Rome.