Guido Reni was the most famous Italian painter of his time, and his gift as a creator of religious images was unsurpassed. The idealized figures he painted, as well as the harmony, color, and sentiment of his work, made his name synonymous with grace and beauty.

 In the mid-16th century, as part of the Catholic Church's new stance to combat Protestantism and propagate the Catholic faith, images of saints and holy figures were humanized and made more psychologically and emotionally accessible. In order to heighten the empathy between viewer and image, artists commonly depicted saints in a more direct and intimate format, eliminating complex attributes of iconography.

 James the Greater, one of the 12 apostles and brother of John the Evangelist, was among the circle of men closest to Christ. James was present with Peter and John at the Transfiguration and again at the Agony in the Garden, when Jesus retired to the Mount of Olives to pray just before His arrest. Here, James is shown as Christ's apostle: bearded, with his dark hair parted and falling on either side in the manner of Christ, and with the pilgrim's staff.