Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 – 1642) Workshop

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 – 1642) Workshop of
Probably Gian Domenico Cerrini, the Cavalier Perugino (Perugia 1609 – Rome 1681)

oil on canvas (65 x 54 cm. – with frame 93 x 82 cm.)

Full details of the work (see our online gallery at the following LINK)

The splendid female figure portrayed is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, recognizable thanks to her traditional iconographic attributes, namely the crown, jewels and royal clothes, which allude to her princely origins.

Catherine of Alexandria, thanks to her noble lineage, was able to dedicate her life to study, surrounding herself with wise and erudite people, becoming very learned especially in philosophy and religion; her figure, which has produced a very rich iconography throughout Europe, has had a great following for the characteristics that distinguish her: she represents in fact a woman of great intelligence, redeeming a thousand-year-old prejudice, of strong and intrepid character, capable of opposing force with the determination of her faith and her knowledge.

Given her social status and the fact that she was considered the embodiment of the virtues of wisdom, strength and eloquence, she was acclaimed as a model for aristocratic ladies of the time.

In particular, this is a high-quality version of the famous 'Saint Catherine' painted by Guido Reni around 1606, which we can admire today in the collection of the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow (image 1 – oil on canvas, 89 x 63 cm, museum URL: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/saint-catherine-138883), or in the altarpiece of the 'Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria' (image 2 – Diocesan Museum, Albenga, URL: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/entry/work/59514/)

Given the success of the iconography, like many of Reni's creations, it was later revived thanks to the versions subsequently executed by his students such as, in our case, the 'Portrait of a Woman in the Dress of Saint Catherine of Alexandria' attributed to Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (image 3 - Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery, Greenville, URL museum: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/48609/), and again the 'Saint Catherine of Alexandria between Two Angels' also by Cerrini (image 4 - The Chrysler Museum of Art, New York, URL: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/fotografia/94242/)

Returning to our canvas, the high quality of this intense portrait leads us to attribute the hand to one of the talented students of Reni's workshop, faithful to his pictorial dictates, taking into consideration as a possible executor the aforementioned Gian Domenico Cerrini, known as Cavalier Perugino (Perugia 1609 – Rome 1681). Adherent to classicist models, as we can clearly see in our painting, he managed to develop a style with figures with wavy and soft contours, rendered with a light and milky color.

Particular importance is given to the complexion of the face, expertly defined by the light, and to the intensity of the colors of the clothes and the cloak, embellished with an iridescent lapis lazuli blue. The very fine features of the face, enhanced by the light from above that highlights the complexion, and the softness of the anatomical details, outlined by a meticulous play of light and shade, are to be emphasized.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is sold complete with a pleasant golden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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