Portrait of a Woman as Saint Catherine
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
unframed: 95 × 71.3 cm · framed: 116 × 93 × 11 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Holden Collection
Accession Number
1916.825
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian, was martyred for refusing to make sacrifices to idols as decreed by the pagan Roman emperor Maxentius. While Maxentius first attempted to slay Catherine with spiked wheels, the machine broke when she prayed for salvation, and the emperor subsequently beheaded her. Catherine is identified in portraits through objects related to her martyrdom, such as a broken wheel, or a palm branch symbolizing the victory of the eternal spirit over mortal flesh. In six...