The mystical marriage of Saint Catherine covers two different subjects in Christian art arising from visions received by either Catherine of Alexandria or Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), in which these virgin saints went through a mystical marriage wedding ceremony with Christ, in the presence of the Virgin Mary, consecrating themselves and their virginity to him.
A rare version with both saints: Ambrogio Bergognone, The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena.
The Catholic Encyclopaedia notes that such a wedding ceremony "is but the accompaniment and symbol of a purely spiritual grace", and that "as a wife should share in the life of her husband, and as Christ suffered for the redemption of mankind, the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in His sufferings."[1] Catherine of Alexandria was allegedly martyred, while Catherine of Siena is said to have received the stigmata.
Both subjects are frequent subjects in Christian art; the scene usually includes one of the Saint Catherines and either the infant Jesus held by his mother or an adult Jesus. Very rarely both saints are shown in a double ceremony (as at right). Saint Catherine of Alexandria is invariably dressed as a princess in rich clothes, often with a crown, and normally with loose long blonde hair and carrying a martyr's palm, sometimes with her attribute of a wheel; Saint Catherine of Siena is shown as a Dominican nun in white with a black over-robe open at the front, so it is usually easy to tell which saint is depicted.[2]
Although Saint Catherine of Alexandria was supposed to have lived in the third and fourth centuries, the story of her vision appears first to be found in literature after 1337, over a thousand years after the traditional dating of her death, and ten years before Catherine of Siena was born.[3] It appears in later versions of the popular Golden Legend, but the earliest version of the account there seems to be in an English translation of 1438.[4]
The Barna da Siena panel at right was painted within a few years of the first literary mentions. Although she is a very popular saint in Eastern Orthodoxy, the marriage is not a traditional subject in Orthodox icons. In Western art the vision of Saint Catherine of Alexandria usually shows the Infant Christ, held by the Virgin, placing a ring (one of her attributes) on her finger, following some literary accounts, although in the version in the Golden Legend he appears to be adult, and the marriage takes place among a great crowd of angels and "all the celestial court",[5] and these may also be shown.
Saint Catherine of Siena would have been familiar with this story – the Barna da Siena panel shown was painted in Siena a few years before she was born – and she is recorded as praying as a child that she would have a similar experience, which she eventually did. She was "a devout woman whose imagination was stimulated unconsciously by religious images she had seen previously", as was also clear from the form of her stigmata as described by her.[6] Christ may be depicted as either an infant or adult in her scenes.[7]
She was canonized in 1461, though the Giovanni di Paolo picture below may predate this; it is also Sienese.[8] The fresco by Spinello Aretino or a follower in the Cialli-Sernigi chapel of Santa Trinita in Florence certainly predates the canonization by several decades. However, unlike the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, there were no large monumental images, such as the main panel of an altarpiece, of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena until 1528, when the Siennese painter Domenico Beccafumi painted one for the church of Santo Spirito in Siena.[9]
A mystical marriage to Christ is also an attribute of Saint Rosa of Lima (died 1617), and many other saints have reported such visions.
^Lucetta Scaraffia, Gabriella Zarri. Women and faith: Catholic religious life in Italy from late antiquity to the present, p.80, Harvard University Press, 1999, ISBN0-674-95478-5, ISBN978-0-674-95478-6, Google books
^Blum, Shierley Nielson, Early Netherlandish Triptychs, p. 155, note 26, University of California Press, 1969, google books
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The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine on Artcyclopedia.com
May 02, 2024
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For some individual paintings see Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine disambiguation The mystical marriage of Saint Catherine covers two different subjects in Christian art arising from visions received by either Catherine of Alexandria or Catherine of Siena 1347 1380 in which these virgin saints went through a mystical marriage wedding ceremony with Christ in the presence of the Virgin Mary consecrating themselves and their virginity to him A rare version with both saints Ambrogio Bergognone The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena The Catholic Encyclopaedia notes that such a wedding ceremony is but the accompaniment and symbol of a purely spiritual grace and that as a wife should share in the life of her husband and as Christ suffered for the redemption of mankind the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in His sufferings 1 Catherine of Alexandria was allegedly martyred while Catherine of Siena is said to have received the stigmata Both subjects are frequent subjects in Christian art the scene usually includes one of the Saint Catherines and either the infant Jesus held by his mother or an adult Jesus Very rarely both saints are shown in a double ceremony as at right Saint Catherine of Alexandria is invariably dressed as a princess in rich clothes often with a crown and normally with loose long blonde hair and carrying a martyr s palm sometimes with her attribute of a wheel Saint Catherine of Siena is shown as a Dominican nun in white with a black over robe open at the front so it is usually easy to tell which saint is depicted 2 Contents 1 History 2 Paintings 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Sources 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp Barna da Siena c 1340 Although Saint Catherine of Alexandria was supposed to have lived in the third and fourth centuries the story of her vision appears first to be found in literature after 1337 over a thousand years after the traditional dating of her death and ten years before Catherine of Siena was born 3 It appears in later versions of the popular Golden Legend but the earliest version of the account there seems to be in an English translation of 1438 4 The Barna da Siena panel at right was painted within a few years of the first literary mentions Although she is a very popular saint in Eastern Orthodoxy the marriage is not a traditional subject in Orthodox icons In Western art the vision of Saint Catherine of Alexandria usually shows the Infant Christ held by the Virgin placing a ring one of her attributes on her finger following some literary accounts although in the version in the Golden Legend he appears to be adult and the marriage takes place among a great crowd of angels and all the celestial court 5 and these may also be shown Saint Catherine of Siena would have been familiar with this story the Barna da Siena panel shown was painted in Siena a few years before she was born and she is recorded as praying as a child that she would have a similar experience which she eventually did She was a devout woman whose imagination was stimulated unconsciously by religious images she had seen previously as was also clear from the form of her stigmata as described by her 6 Christ may be depicted as either an infant or adult in her scenes 7 She was canonized in 1461 though the Giovanni di Paolo picture below may predate this it is also Sienese 8 The fresco by Spinello Aretino or a follower in the Cialli Sernigi chapel of Santa Trinita in Florence certainly predates the canonization by several decades However unlike the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria there were no large monumental images such as the main panel of an altarpiece of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena until 1528 when the Siennese painter Domenico Beccafumi painted one for the church of Santo Spirito in Siena 9 A mystical marriage to Christ is also an attribute of Saint Rosa of Lima died 1617 and many other saints have reported such visions Paintings edit nbsp Giovanni di Paolo The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena nbsp Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy late 15th century Brussels Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium nbsp Denis Calvaert The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine nbsp The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine 1515 20 unknown Southern Netherlandish artist Hamburger Kunsthalle nbsp Clemente de Torres c 1700 Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena nbsp Giulio Cesare Procaccini The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine nbsp Master of Margaret of York Mystic wedding of Catherine of Siena in a manuscript made for Louis de Gruuthuse Public Library Bruges MS 767 See also editMystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Correggio Paris mid 1520s painting in the Louvre Paris Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Correggio Naples c 1520 painting in the National Museum of Capodimonte Naples Marriage of St Catherine Filippino Lippi 1503 painting in the Basilica di San Domenico Bologna Italy Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine Michelino da Besozzo c 1420 painting in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Siena Italy Three by Parmigianino Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine Parmigianino known as the Bardi Altarpiece c 1521 painting in the church of Santa Maria at Bardi Emilia Romagna Italy Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Parmigianino Louvre Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Parmigianino National Gallery References edit CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Mystical Marriage www newadvent org Earls 56 57 203 Lucetta Scaraffia Gabriella Zarri Women and faith Catholic religious life in Italy from late antiquity to the present p 80 Harvard University Press 1999 ISBN 0 674 95478 5 ISBN 978 0 674 95478 6 Google books Blum Shierley Nielson Early Netherlandish Triptychs p 155 note 26 University of California Press 1969 google books Life of St Katherine in William Caxton s English version of the Golden Legend Hall 214 Earls 57 Giovanni di Paolo Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena The Metropolitan Museum of Art Jenkens 179 Sources edit Earls Irene Renaissance art a topical dictionary Greenwood Publishing Group 1987 ISBN 0 313 24658 0 Google books Hall James A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art John Murray London ISBN 0 7195 3971 4 Jenkens A Lawrence Renaissance Siena art in context Truman State University Press 2005 ISBN 1 931112 43 6 ISBN 978 1 931112 43 7 Google booksExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to wbr Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena and wbr Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine on Artcyclopedia com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine amp oldid 1199708607, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
