The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Medium
woodcut
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland
Accession Number
1928.635
Tags
male
About this artwork
Saint Catherine was among the most popular virgin martyrs during this period and was particularly venerated in Dürer’s hometown of Nuremberg for her intermediary role between the faithful and God. A princess from Alexandria, Catherine was condemned to die on spiked wheels by the Roman emperor Maxentius because of her Christian faith. In answer to her prayers, God destroyed the wheels with such force that 4,000 pagans were killed. Afterward, Catherine was willingly decapitated. Dürer’s focus on C...