![Bergognone 007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Bergognone_007.jpg)
The mystical marriage of Saint Catherine (or "Mystic") covers two different subjects in Christian art arising from visions received by either
Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...
or
Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...
(1347–1380), in which these
virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
saints went through a
mystical marriage
__NOTOC__
Within the Christianity, Christian tradition, bridal theology, also referred to as mystical marriage, is the New Testament portrayal of communion with Jesus as a marriage, and God's reign as a wedding banquet. This tradition in turn trac ...
wedding ceremony with
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
, in the presence of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, consecrating themselves and their virginity to him.
The ''Catholic Encyclopaedia'' notes that such a wedding ceremony "is but the accompaniment and symbol of a purely spiritual grace", and that "as a wife should share in the life of her husband, and as Christ suffered for the redemption of mankind, the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in His sufferings." Catherine of Alexandria was
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
ed, while Catherine of Siena received the
stigmata
Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet.
Stigm ...
.
Both subjects are frequent subjects in
Christian art
Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media.
Images of Jesus and narrative ...
; the scene usually includes one of the Saint Catherines and either the
infant Jesus
The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12.
The four canonical gospels, a ...
held by his mother or an adult Jesus. Very rarely both saints are shown in a double ceremony (as at right). Saint Catherine of Alexandria is invariably dressed as a princess in rich clothes, often with a crown, and normally with loose long blonde hair and carrying a
martyr's palm
The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm ''(Phoenix)'' was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and in ancient Egypt represented immortality. In ...
, sometimes with her attribute of a
wheel
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...
; Saint Catherine of Siena is shown as a
Dominican nun in white with a black over-robe open at the front, so it is usually easy to tell which saint is depicted.
History
![Barna da Siena](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Barna_da_Siena._Mystic_Marriage_of_st_Catherine._Boston_MFA.jpg)
Although Saint Catherine of Alexandria was supposed to have lived in the third and fourth centuries, the story of her vision appears first to be found in literature after 1337, over a thousand years after the traditional dating of her death, and ten years before Catherine of Siena was born. It appears in later versions of the popular
Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
, but the earliest version of the account there seems to be in an English translation of 1438.
The
Barna da Siena
Barna da Siena, also known as Berna di Siena, was presumed to be a Sienese School, Sienese painter active from about 1330 to 1350.
The painter was first referred to by Lorenzo Ghiberti in his ''I Commentarii'' (mid 15th century) as a Sienese p ...
panel at right was painted within a few years of the first literary mentions. Although she is a very popular saint in
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first m ...
, the marriage is not a traditional subject in Orthodox
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
s. In Western art the vision of Saint Catherine of Alexandria usually shows the Infant Christ, held by the Virgin, placing a ring (one of her attributes) on her finger, following some literary accounts, although in the version in the ''
Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
'' he appears to be adult, and the marriage takes place among a great crowd of angels and "all the celestial court", and these may also be shown.
Saint Catherine of Siena would have been familiar with this story – the
Barna da Siena
Barna da Siena, also known as Berna di Siena, was presumed to be a Sienese School, Sienese painter active from about 1330 to 1350.
The painter was first referred to by Lorenzo Ghiberti in his ''I Commentarii'' (mid 15th century) as a Sienese p ...
panel shown was painted in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
a few years before she was born – and she is recorded as praying as a child that she would have a similar experience, which she eventually did. She was "a devout woman whose imagination was stimulated unconsciously by religious images she had seen previously", as was also clear from the form of her ''
stigmata
Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet.
Stigm ...
'' as described by her. Christ may be depicted as either an infant or adult in her scenes.
She was
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...
in 1461, though the
Giovanni di Paolo
Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia (''c.'' 1403–1482) was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena, becoming a prolific painter and illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante's texts. He was one of the most important painters of the 15th cent ...
picture below may predate this; it is also Sienese. The fresco by
Spinello Aretino
Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decennium of the 15th century.[Santa Trinita
Santa Trinita (; Italian for "Holy Trinity") is a Roman Catholic church located in front of the piazza of the same name, traversed by Via de' Tornabuoni, in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan ...]
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
certainly predates the canonization by several decades. However, unlike the ''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria'', there were no large monumental images, such as the main panel of an altarpiece, of the ''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena'' until 1528, when the Siennese painter
Domenico Beccafumi
Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486May 18, 1551) was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active predominantly in Siena. He is considered one of the last undiluted representatives of the Sienese school of painting.
Biography
Domenico was born ...
painted one for the church of
Santo Spirito in Siena.
[Jenkens, 179]
A mystical marriage to Christ is also an attribute of
Saint Rosa of Lima
Rose of Lima (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the poverty stricken of the city thro ...
(died 1617), and many other saints have reported such visions.
Artistic versions
File:Giovanni di Paolo The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena.jpg, Giovanni di Paolo
Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia (''c.'' 1403–1482) was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena, becoming a prolific painter and illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante's texts. He was one of the most important painters of the 15th cent ...
, ''The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena''
File:Virgo inter Virgines IMG 1383.JPG, Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy
Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy ( fl. 1480–1510) was an unidentified Early Netherlandish painter from Bruges. His name comes from an altarpiece in the church of Saint James in Bruges, dated 1480, depicting three scenes from the life of Sai ...
, late 15th century, Brussels, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
.
File:Denis Calvaert 001.jpg, Denis Calvaert
Denis (or Denys or Denijs) Calvaert (; around 154016 April 1619) was an Antwerp-born Flemish painter, who lived in Italy for most of his life, where he was known as Dionisio Fiammingo () or simply Il Fiammingo ("the Fleming"). Calvaert was a profo ...
, The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine
File:1517 Südniederländisch Die mystische Vermählung der hl. Katharina anagoria.JPG, ''The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine'', 1515/20, unknown Southern Netherlandish artist, Hamburger Kunsthalle
The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. The museum consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaa ...
File:MarriageCath.jpg, Pierre Subleyras
Pierre Subleyras (; November 25, 1699 – May 28, 1749) was a French painter, active during the late- Baroque and early- Neoclassic period, mainly in Italy.
Life
Subleyras was born in Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, France.
He left France in 1728, havi ...
, The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Ricci
File:ClementedeTorres.jpg, Clemente de Torres
Clemente de Torres is the stage name of Clemente de Torvisco y Escobar (23 November 1662 - 1730), was a Spanish Baroque painter of Genoese origin.
De Torres started painting about 1680, and trained with Juan de Valdés Leal, inheriting his styl ...
, c. 1700, ''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena''
File:Giulio Cesare Procaccini - The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine - WGA18431.jpg, Giulio Cesare Procaccini
Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574–1625) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan.
Biography
Born in Bologna he was son of the Mannerist painter Ercole Procaccini the Elder and brother of Camillo Procaccini and Car ...
, The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine
File:Bruges Public Library MS767 v detail.jpg, Master of Margaret of York
The Master of Margaret of York is the Notname of an illuminator active in Bruges between 1470 and 1480. He owes his name to a devotional book he decorated for Margaret of York, wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. A large number of his il ...
, Mystic wedding of Catherine of Siena in a manuscript made for Louis de Gruuthuse
Louis de Bruges, Lord of Gruuthuse, Prince of Steenhuijs, Earl of Winchester (Dutch: Lodewijk van Brugge; c. 1427 – 24 November 1492), was a Flemish courtier, bibliophile, soldier and nobleman. He was awarded the title of Earl of Winchester b ...
. Public Library Bruges
The Bruges Public Library is a public library in Bruges, Belgium.
Since its foundation in 1796 the Public Library of Bruges has functioned both as a public library and a special collections library. The core of the special collections consists of ...
, MS 767.
Works with articles
*
''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine'' (Correggio, Paris), mid-1520s painting in the Louvre, Paris
*
''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine'' (Correggio, Naples), c.1520 painting in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples
*
''Marriage of St. Catherine'' (Filippino Lippi), 1503 painting in the Basilica di San Domenico, Bologna, Italy
*
''Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine'' (Michelino da Besozzo), c.1420 painting in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Siena, Italy
*Three by
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bo ...
:
**
''Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine'' (Parmigianino), known as the Bardi Altarpiece, c.1521 painting in the church of Santa Maria at Bardi, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
**
''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine'' (Parmigianino, Louvre)
**
''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine'' (Parmigianino, National Gallery)
Notes
References
*Earls, Irene. ''Renaissance art: a topical dictionary'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1987,
Google books*Hall, James. ''A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art'', John Murray, London,
*Jenkens, A. Lawrence. ''Renaissance Siena: art in context'', Truman State University Press, 2005, ,
Google books
External links
{{Commons category multi, Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena, Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine on Artcyclopedia.com
Christian iconography
Jesus in art
Virgin Mary in art
Marriage and religion