Saint Catherine of Alexandria, France mid-16th century

Oak carving. Normandy or Picardy, mid-16th century
The martyred saint is depicted standing, with the emperor Maximin, her persecutor, at her feet. In her left hand, she holds an open book, a symbol of her erudition, and in her right, the sword that fell on her head. An iron spike on the emperor's belly was probably used to hold the broken wheel, symbol of his martyrdom, which is missing. In an elegant contrapposto, Catherine offers a graceful sway to our gaze: slender figure, narrow, high waist, head slightly tilted to the left, right shoulder raised, give the illusion of an undulating movement like a dance step. Our sculpture can be associated with northern French production in the second half of the Renaissance, particularly that found in Normandy and Picardy.

Height: 63 cm

Saint Catherine of Alexandria: The main source for the hagiography of Saint Catherine is Jacques de Voragine's Légende dorée, written in the 13th century. The work reports that the martyred virgin of Alexandria, who lived in the 4th century and was renowned for her immense erudition, was the daughter of a king. Converting many patricians with her learned and peremptory words, then rejecting the marriage advances of Emperor Maximin II Daia because she was married to Christ, it was decided that she would be crushed by wheels fitted with saws and nails. These were broken by divine intervention, and the saint was condemned to be beheaded.