The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine
early 16th century
Medium
Pen and black ink, gray wash; framing line in pen and black ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 2 1/16 in. (6.8 × 5.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2015
Accession Number
2015.48
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate drawing, *The Martyrdom of Catherine*, attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder or an anonymous German artist of the early 16 century, captures a pivotal moment in Christian hagiography. Saint Catherine, a revered 4th-century martyr, shown amid her torture on a breaking wheel, surrounded by executioners (men) and protective angels. Cranach, a leading figure in the German Renaissance court painter to the Electors of Saxony, often depicted religious scenes with dynamic compositions and expressive figures, blending Northern Gothic traditions with emerging Renaissance naturalism. Execu...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder|Anonymous, German, 16th century · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...