Saint Catherine Of Alexandria, Guido Reni (bologna 1575 - 1642) Workshop Of

Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) Workshop of
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
(full details LINK)

Oil on canvas
Measurements (cm): 96 x 73 - with frame 112 x 88

This splendid work depicts a beautiful female figure, richly dressed and with refined features, who turns her gaze towards the ground.
She is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, recognisable thanks to her typical iconographic attributes: the crown and royal robes, alluding to her princely origins, the palm in one hand and the cogwheel, recalling her martyrdom.

Thanks to her noble origins, Catherine of Alexandria was able to devote her life to study, surrounding herself with scholars and erudites, becoming very learned especially in philosophy and religion. Her figure, which has produced a very rich iconography throughout Europe, has had a great following because of the characters that distinguish her: she represents a woman of great intelligence, redeeming a millenary prejudice, of a strong and intrepid character, capable of opposing force with the determination of her faith and knowledge.

We are in front of a painting of uncommon beauty, a female portrait that instils in the eyes of the observer an uncommon sense of formal perfection, made tangible by details such as the grace of her bearing, the precision of her face and hands, who appears haughty and aristocratic, without pompous accessories or jewellery that might distract attention.

This is despite the painting's profoundly spiritual air, with the Saint isolated in meditation and silent devotion.

This is in particular a high-quality version of the famous St. Catherine of Alexandria that Guido Reni painted around 1638 - in pendant with a St. Margaret - for the Roman collection of Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna (1637-1689) and which is currently housed in the City Art Gallery in Manchester [1].

In our case we are dealing with a valuable version that, by referring to the best of Rhenish figurative culture, would attest to its authorship within the close circle of the master, probably linking it to one of his collaborators or pupils.

Hinting at the stylistic features of the canvas, we are inclined to put forward as possible author one of the pupils closest to the master, namely Francesco Gessi (Bologna 1588 - 1649), both in terms of the stylistic features, the colour choices tending towards a bright but calm palette, and above all for the facial details.

[1].
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/saint-catherine-205893
Saint Catherine - Guido Reni (1575-1642)
Manchester Art Gallery


The painting is completed by an attractive wooden frame and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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