AFTER GUIDO RENI (BOLOGNA 1575-1642)
St. Catherine of Alexandria
oil on canvas
127 x 88 cm

There are a number of versions and variants of this design. The present work a particualrly well obseved and fine 18th century version, the work is of similar portions to the known studio output. Reni became a key figure in the early Baroque, with a rare ability to create compositions full of grace, complexity and beauty, imbued with a particularly sensitive understanding of colour. It made him one of the most successful artists of the seventeenth century, with a reputation that would endure beyond his lifetime; Reni’s work was frequently copied and collected.

St Catherine of Alexandria is said to have been executed under the Emperor Maxentius in the fourth century. When tortured on a wheel, she was unharmed and the wheel miraculously broke; subsequently she was killed by a sword. Here St Catherine is shown at half-length, facing the spectator, with her head upturned. She is holding a palm in her right hand, and wearing a crown and a blue dress with a golden mantle lined in red. The crown refers to her royal birth.