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Franco-flemish School - Sainte Catherine d'Alexandrie - Late 17th Century - Oil On Canvas
FRANCO-FLAMANDE SCHOOL
Late 17th century - early 18th century
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Oil on canvas marouflaged on panel
28 × 21.5 cm (frame: 42.5 × 35 cm)
Good condition
Dressed in a white-backed gown embroidered with multicolored florets, a red mantle edged with ermine and gold braid, the saint is shown standing in a wooded landscape. In her left hand, she holds the sword of martyrdom, the instrument of her decapitation, and in her right, she carries a palm leaf. At her feet appears the cogwheel, a reminder of the torment to which she was condemned before divine lightning broke the blades. In the upper left-hand corner, a cherub emerges from a cloud and hands her a laurel wreath, symbolizing her victory over her executioners.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th-century virgin and martyr, is one of the major figures of Baroque devotion. Patroness of philosophers, students and woodworkers, she was the object of an extraordinarily widespread cult throughout Catholic Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
With its small dimensions and meticulous quality of execution, this panel is typical of private devotional works produced in Franco-Flemish workshops for wealthy aristocratic or bourgeois clients. It was intended to adorn a private oratory or a castle chapel, the intimate prayer spaces that were central to the spiritual life of Catholic families in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The original panel, which was badly deteriorated (worm-eaten, pitted), has been replaced by a new one. The canvas has been cleaned. The paint layer shows a network of cracks, a natural and expected sign of the ageing of oil paint on an old canvas; these cracks do not affect the legibility or solidity of the work. Modern frame in the 17th century style, with ebony gadroons and gilded fillet, in good condition.
Note: the work representing Sainte Agnès is a counterpart to this one.
Work on view at the gallery (07240).
Shipping: please contact us for information on shipping costs in France and abroad.
Late 17th century - early 18th century
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Oil on canvas marouflaged on panel
28 × 21.5 cm (frame: 42.5 × 35 cm)
Good condition
Dressed in a white-backed gown embroidered with multicolored florets, a red mantle edged with ermine and gold braid, the saint is shown standing in a wooded landscape. In her left hand, she holds the sword of martyrdom, the instrument of her decapitation, and in her right, she carries a palm leaf. At her feet appears the cogwheel, a reminder of the torment to which she was condemned before divine lightning broke the blades. In the upper left-hand corner, a cherub emerges from a cloud and hands her a laurel wreath, symbolizing her victory over her executioners.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th-century virgin and martyr, is one of the major figures of Baroque devotion. Patroness of philosophers, students and woodworkers, she was the object of an extraordinarily widespread cult throughout Catholic Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
With its small dimensions and meticulous quality of execution, this panel is typical of private devotional works produced in Franco-Flemish workshops for wealthy aristocratic or bourgeois clients. It was intended to adorn a private oratory or a castle chapel, the intimate prayer spaces that were central to the spiritual life of Catholic families in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The original panel, which was badly deteriorated (worm-eaten, pitted), has been replaced by a new one. The canvas has been cleaned. The paint layer shows a network of cracks, a natural and expected sign of the ageing of oil paint on an old canvas; these cracks do not affect the legibility or solidity of the work. Modern frame in the 17th century style, with ebony gadroons and gilded fillet, in good condition.
Note: the work representing Sainte Agnès is a counterpart to this one.
Work on view at the gallery (07240).
Shipping: please contact us for information on shipping costs in France and abroad.
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