St. Catherine of Alexandria
Artist
Elisabetta Sirani
(Italian, 1638-1665)
CultureItalian
Date1638-1664
MediumInk and crayon on paper
DimensionsOverall: 8 7/16 x 6 3/4 in. (21.4 x 17.1 cm)
Overall, Mat: 19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in. (48.9 x 36.2 cm)
Overall, Mat: 19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in. (48.9 x 36.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number50.49.45
Not on view
DescriptionInk and red crayon drawing of a female saint with palm. Angel head at upper right. Much of paper originally mounted on still on back.Label TextElisabetta Sirani Italian, 1638–1665 St. Catherine of Alexandria Ink and crayon on paper Elisabetta Sirani was a highly celebrated and prolific artist, active in Bologna for only a few years before her death at the age of 27. Trained in her father’s studio, as were her two sisters, she also enjoyed considerable success as a teacher. She established a school for women artists that produced several professional graduates. Her red chalk drawing shows one of the most popular early Christian women martyrs, St. Catherine of Alexandria (in Egypt) of the late 200s, who miraculously survived torture on a wheel (which she holds). She was ultimately beheaded for her unrelenting promotion of Christianity, which is shown in the Hendrick ter Brugghen painting nearby. The palm branch symbolizes her martyrdom, while her crown indicates her royal status. Museum purchase 50.49.45Exhibition HistoryDrawing of the Month, August 1954. Published ReferencesOLD MASTER DRAWINGS CATALOGUE, Nov. 1950, #39.
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