Raphael, 'Saint Catherine of Alexandria', about 1507

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Raphael

Not on display

About the work

Overview

Catherine of Alexandria, a fourth-century princess, was converted to Christianity and in a vision underwent a mystic marriage with Christ. When she would not give up her faith, Emperor Maxentius ordered that she be bound to a spiked wheel and tortured to death. However, a thunderbolt destroyed the wheel before it could harm her. Catherine was then beheaded.

Raphael has focused on the visionary aspect of the saint’s faith, capturing her with her hand on heart and her lips parted, in a moment of divine ecstasy looking heavenwards to a golden break in the clouds. In the foreground is a dandelion seed head. The dandelion often appears in Netherlandish and German paintings as a symbol of Christian grief and the Passion (Christ’s torture and crucifixion).

The saint’s twisting pose reflects Raphael’s study of the sinuous grace of Perugino’s paintings, the dynamic compositions of Leonardo and the monumentality of Michelangelo’s figures.

In-depth

She is depicted here in a peaceful rural landscape leaning on the spiked wheel but without her usual attributes of a martyr’s palm and the sword. Raphael has focused instead on the visionary aspect of her faith, capturing her with her hand on heart and her lips parted, in a moment of divine ecstasy looking heavenwards to a golden break in the clouds.

In the foreground he has painted a few delicate plants among the rocks, including a dandelion seed head. The dandelion is a bitter herb that appears in Netherlandish and German paintings of the Crucifixion and was symbolic of Christian grief and in particular Christ’s Passion. Raphael also included a dandelion clock in his slightly earlier Holy Family with a Palm Tree (Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh) and his Baglioni Entombment of 1507 (S. Francesco al Prato, Perugia).

Raphael’s bold presentation of the saint in ecstasy developed out of conventions previously adopted for single figures of saints for polyptychs (multi-panelled altarpieces). Raphael probably worked alongside Perugino, whose religious figures – frequently with upturned heads and raised eyes – were praised by contemporaries for their angelic air. Perugino also placed his figures against distant landscapes and included still-life details of flowers. However, Saint Catherine’s pose is far more dynamic than anything found in Perugino’s works, revealing the influence of Leonardo’s and Michelangelo’s approaches to the figure.

Saint Catherine’s beautiful curving contrapposto pose – reminiscent of a classical statue of Venus (and also seen in Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, Uffizi, Florence) – is partly derived from Leonardo’s Leda (Royal Collection, London), which Raphael had copied not long before painting his Saint Catherine. The spiralling arrangement of her hair and the yellow lining of her mantle are also characteristic of Leonardo’s approach.

The sense of sculptural monumentality and the foreshortening of Saint Catherine’s raised head almost certainly derive from Michelangelo’s unfinished marble Saint Matthew (1505–6) for the interior of Florence Cathedral (now Accademia, Florence). Raphael made a drawing of it for the bearers in his Baglioni Entombment. Raphael’s figure of Saint Catherine is really a fusion of these two sources – Leonardo’s Leda and Michelangelo’s Saint Matthew – but made very much his own, and reflecting the ideal of universal harmony that was so fundamental to his works.

It is not known who commissioned Raphael’s Saint Catherine – it may have been intended as a picture for private devotion, perhaps for someone particularly devoted to the saint or named after her. Painted in about 1507 when Raphael was working on the Baglioni Entombment, this picture may also have had a Perugian or Florentine patron. The writer Pietro Aretino considered presenting a picture in his possession ‘in which is the image of the figure of Saint Catherine, by Raphael of Urbino’ to Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France. However, it is impossible to tell whether this is the painting once owned by Aretino and recorded in his possession in 1550.

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Delve deeper and explore the catalogue entry for this painting.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Artist: Raphael
Artist dates: 1483 - 1520
Date made: about 1507
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 72.2 × 55.7 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1839
Inventory number: NG168
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: William Thomas Beckford

John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick
Frame: 16th-century Italian Frame

Provenance

Probably in the collection of Cardinal Pier Paolo Crescenzi (1572-1645). By 1633 in the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1618), and thence by descent to Prince Marcantonio IV Borghese (1730-1800). Bought around 1798–9 by the British art dealer Alexander Day (1751–1841) in partnership with the Roman restorer Pietro Camuccini (1760–1833) and the banker Giovanni Torlonia (1755–1829), and offered for sale at the London gallery of the painter Henry Tresham (c.1750-1814) at 20 Lower Brook Street in 1800–1. Reoffered by Day at the gallery of William Buchanan (1777-1864) at 18 Oxenden Street, Haymarket (24 May 1808 and following days); by 1816 (if not before) in the possession of John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (1769-1859) who eventually acquired full title in 1824; sold by John Smith (1781-1855), 26 January 1824, for £2615.5s., to William Beckford (1760-1844); from whom purchased, 1839.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Carol Plazzotta and Tom Henry, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 4, ‘Raphael’, London 2022; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2010

Bridget Riley: Paintings and Related Work

The National Gallery (London)

24 November 2010 - 22 May 2011
2014

Strange Beauty: Masters of the German Renaissance

The National Gallery (London)

19 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
2022

The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Raphael

The National Gallery (London)

9 April 2022 - 31 July 2022

Bibliography

1650

G. Manilli, Villa Borghese fuori di Porta Pinciana, Rome 1650
1693

G.P. Rossini, Il Mercurio errante delle grandezze di Roma, Rome 1693
1787

F.W.B. von Ramdohr, Über Mahlerei und Bildhauerarbeit in Rom für Liebhaber des Schönen in der Kunst, Leipzig 1787
1824

W. Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting: With a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England Since the French Revolution, London 1824
1838

G.F. Waagen, Works of Art and Artists in England, trans. H. Lloyd, vol. 2, London 1838
1860

J.D. Passavant, Raphaël d'Urbin et son père Giovanni Santi, Paris 1860
1878

A. Springer, Raphael und Michelangelo, Leipzig 1878
1882

J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, Raphael: His Life and Works, 2 vols, London 1882
1910

L. Melville, The Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill, London 1910
1913

O. Fischel, Raphaels Zeichnungen, Berlin 1913
1923

A. Rosenberg, Raffael, des Meisters Gemälde, in 274 Abbildungen, ed. G. Gronau, Berlin 1923
1925

F. Filippini, 'Raffaello a Bologna', Cronache d'arte, 1925
1948

O. Fischel, Raphael, trans. B. Rackham, London 1948
1955

R. Longhi, 'Percorso di Raffaello Giovini', Paragone, LXV, 1955, pp. 8-23
1957

P. Della Pergola, 'Per la storia della Galleria Borghese', Critica d'arte, XX, 1957, pp. 135-42
1962

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
1962

E. Camesasca (ed.), Tutta la pittura de Raffaello, 2nd edn, Milan 1962
1964

C.C. Vermeule, European Art and the Classical Past, Cambridge MA 1964
1964

P. Della Pergola, 'L'Inventario Borghese del 1693, I', Arte antica e moderna, XXVI, 1964, pp. 219-30
1966

B. Alexander, 'Fonthill, Wiltshire: William Beckford as Collector', Country Life, 1966
1970

J. Pope-Hennessy, Raphael: The Wrightsman Lectures Delivered under the Auspices of the New York Institute of Fine Arts, London 1970
1971

L. Düssler, Raphael: A Critical Catalogue of His Pictures, Wall-Paintings and Tapestries, trans. S. Cruft, London 1971
1971

C. Wainwright, 'William Beckford e la sua collezione (parts I and II)', Arte illustrata, IV/37-38, 1971, pp. 46-60
1972

D. Arasse, 'Extases et visions béatifiques à l'apogée de la Renaissance: Quatre images de Raphael', Mélanges de l'École Française de Rome: Moyen Âge-Temps Modernes, LXXXIV, 1972, pp. 403-92
1975

C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
1977

W. Hood and C. Hope, 'Titian's Vatican Altarpiece and the Pictures Underneath', Art Bulletin, LIX, 1977, pp. 534-52
1982

P. de Vecchi, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Raphael, Paris 1982
1983

P. Joannides, The Drawings of Raphael: With a Complete Catalogue, Oxford 1983
1983

R. Jones and N. Penny, Raphael, New Haven 1983
1984

G. Barberini, D. Bernini and S. Stacciolis, Raffaello nelle raccolte Borghese (exh. cat. Museo e Galleria Borghese, January - Mar 1984), Rome 1984
1985

L. Caron, 'Choices Concerning Modes of Modeling During the High Renaissance and After', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 1985
1987

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
1987

Y. Kitaura, 'El Greco y Rafael', Goya, 1987
1989

S.F. Pagden and M.A. Zancan, Raffaello: Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1989
1990

J. Plesters, 'Technical Aspects of some Paintings by Raphael in the National Gallery', in J. Shearman and M.B. Hall (eds), The Princeton Raphael Symposium: Science in the Service of Art History, Princeton 1990, pp. 15-37
1991

P. Emison, 'The Singularity of Raphael's Lucretia', Art History, 1991, pp. 372-96
1992

N. Penny, 'Raphael's "Madonna dei Garofani" Rediscovered', The Burlington Magazine, CXXXIV, 1992, pp. 67-81
1992

M. Warner, 'The Pre-Raphaelites and the National Gallery', in M. Warner et al., The Pre-Raphaelites in Context, San Marino 1992, pp. 1-12
1993

J. Anderson, 'The Provenance of Bellini's Feast of the Gods and a New / Old Interpretation', Studies in the History of Art, XLV, 1993, pp. 264-87
1993

J. Dunkerton and N. Penny, 'The Infra-Red Examination of Raphael's "Garvagh Madonna"', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XIV, 1993, pp. 6-21
1994

K. Krause, 'Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: Jeanne d'Arc au Sacre de Charles VII', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, LVII, 1994, pp. 239-51
1997

M. Schwartz, 'Raphael's Authorship in the Expulsion of Heliodorus', Art Bulletin, LXXIX, 1997, pp. 467-92
1999

R. Freiherr Hiller von Gaertringen, Raffaels Lernerfahrungen in der Werkstatt Peruginos: Kartonverwendung und Motivübernahme im Wandel, Munich 1999
1999

K. Oberhuber, Raphael: The Paintings, Munich 1999
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2001

J. Meyer zur Capellen, Raphael: A Critical Catalogue of His Paintings, vol. 1, Beginnings in Umbria and Florence, ca. 1500-1508, Landshut 2001
2002

O. Bradbury and N. Penny, 'The Picture Collecting of Lord Northwick: Part I', The Burlington Magazine, CXLIV/1193, August 2002, pp. 485-96
2004

A. Roy, M. Spring and C. Plazzotta, 'Raphael's Early Work in the National Gallery: Paintings before Rome', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXV, 2004, pp. 4-35
2004

H. Chapman, T. Henry and C. Plazzotta, Raphael: From Urbino to Rome (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 20 October 2004 - 16 January 2005), London 2004
2007

M. Spring, 'Raphael's Materials: Some New Discoveries and their Context within Early Sixteenth-Century Painting', in A. Roy and M. Spring (eds), Raphael's Painting Technique: Working Practices before Rome: Proceedings of the Eu-ARTECH Workshop, Florence 2007, pp. 77-86
2007

R. Billinge, 'Recent Study of Raphael's Early Paintings in the National Gallery, London, with Infrared Reflectography', in A. Roy and M. Spring (eds), Raphael's Painting Technique: Working Practices before Rome: Proceedings of the Eu-ARTECH Workshop, Florence 2007, pp. 67-75
2022

Plazzotta, Carol, and Tom Henry, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, 4, Raphael, London 2022

Frame

This Italian cassetta frame, dating to the sixteenth century, is crafted from poplar wood. The wide carved frieze with its gold punched surface is adorned with graceful scrolling foliate motifs and tendrils accompanied by cupped flowers. Flanking the frieze on either side are simple quadruple elongated bead-and-reel motifs.

Although the frame has undergone some alterations, including being fitted with a new sight edge moulding, it has been carefully restored, with much of its original water gilding and punch-tooling preserved.

The gesso on the edge of Raphael’s Saint Catherine of Alexandria hints that it was originally housed within an architectural setting, such as an engaged frame or architectural niche. The Saint Catherine of Alexandria appears in a Villa Borghese inventory believed to have been compiled between 1615 and 1630. It states that the painting was placed over a door and that the frame consisted of parcel-gilt walnut wood with gilded egg mouldings (‘cornice di noce tocca d’oro con ovili dorati’). It is most likely that the inventory was a copy of a posthumous inventory from 1633 of Cardinal Scipione Borghese.

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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