Artwork Page for Holy Family with the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

Details / Information for Holy Family with the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

Holy Family with the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

c. 1560

Tommaso d’Antonio Manzuoli, called Maso da San Friano

(Italian, 1531–1571)
Culture
Italy
Medium
oil on panel
Measurements
Image: 148 x 103 cm (58 1/4 x 40 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2019.168
Public Domain
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Location
118 Italian Renaissance
Print
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Did You Know?

Saint Catherine is usually shown with a spiked wheel; here, it is barely visible below her hand.

Description

The marriage shown in this painting is called “mystic” because it was a purely symbolic. The infant Jesus places a ring on the finger of Catherine of Alexandria, a fourth-century saint who had a vision of dedicating herself to God and remaining a virgin instead of marrying. Note the otherworldly quality of the women and children’s elegant faces, compared to the naturalism of elderly Saint Joseph, who may be a likeness of someone the artist knew.
A vertical oil painting depicts the Virgin Mary with the nude baby Christ, flanked by three figures, all with light skin tones and elongated bodies. Mary wears a red gown and blue mantle. On our left, Saint Catherine in lilac and green gazes toward them. On our right, an older Saint Joseph in yellow cloth points toward Christ. Below, a nude Saint John the Baptist holds a wooden cross and points upward against a dark background.

Holy Family with the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

c. 1560

Tommaso d’Antonio Manzuoli, called Maso da San Friano

(Italian, 1531–1571)
Italy

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