Year c. 1420 Created 1420 | Medium Tempera on panel | |
Dimensions 78 cm × 58 cm (31 in × 23 in) Artist Michelino Molinari da Besozzo Similar The Marriage of the Virgin, Madonna of the Rose Garden, Bardi Altarpiece, Adoration of the Magi, Marriage of St Catherine | ||
The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine is a painting by the medieval Italian painter Michelino da Besozzo. The painting dates from c. 1420 and is housed in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Siena, Italy.
It is the only signed work by the Gothic painter. The only other painting attributed to him with some certainty is Marriage of the Virgin in the Metropolitan Museum of New York City.
Description
The painting shows the virgin Mary holding the Christ child on her knees while the child celebrates the symbolic mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria by offering her a ring. St. Catherine, kneeling before the Christ child, wears a wide fur-lined rose cloak and gilt crown; her long, blond hair is an attribute of aristocratic women of the time. At the sides are Saint John the Baptist and Saint Anthony the Great, with his typical attribute, a pig, at his feet.
The artist's signature, "Michelinus feci", is located below the Virgin's mantle. The saints' names are written next to them.