Mystical Marriage Of Saint Catherine
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The mystical marriage of Saint Catherine covers two different subjects often shown in Catholic art arising from visions received by either
Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...
or
Catherine of Siena Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, ...
(1347–1380), in which these
virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
saints went through a mystical marriage wedding ceremony with
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
, in the presence of the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, 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 allegedly
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...
ed, while Catherine of Siena is said to have received the
stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...
. 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 Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospe ...
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, or palm frond, 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 represent ...
, sometimes with her attribute of a
wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn 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 machin ...
; 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

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'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...
, but the earliest version of the account there seems to be in an English translation of 1438. The Barna da Siena panel was painted within a few years of the first literary mentions. Although she is a very popular saint in
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
, 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, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
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'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...
'' 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 panel shown was painted in
Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
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 (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...
'' 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 Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...
in 1461, though the Giovanni di Paolo picture below may predate this; it is also Sienese. The fresco by
Spinello Aretino Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian Painting, painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decade 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, Tuscany, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Orde ...
in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
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 painted one for the church of Santo Spirito in Siena. A mystical marriage to Christ is also an attribute of Saint Rosa of Lima (died 1617), and many other saints have reported such visions. Examples of mystical marriages can be found as early as the Merovingian era. Such a marriage takes place in the Vita of Saint Aldegund, and similar visionary experiences occurred in the Vita of Saint Radegund. Another early example of a Saint who underwent a mystical marriage would be Saint
Edith of Wilton Edith of Wilton ( – ) was an English saint, nun and member of the community at Wilton Abbey, and the daughter of Edgar, King of England (r. 959–975) and Wulfthryth of Wilton, Saint Wulfthryth. Edith's parents might have been married and Edg ...
.Diane Watt, Women, Writing, and Religion in England and Beyond, 650-1100, (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019), p. 156.


Paintings

File:Giovanni di Paolo The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena.jpg, Giovanni di Paolo, ''The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena'' File:Virgo inter Virgines IMG 1383.JPG, Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy, late 15th century, Brussels,
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (, ; , ) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They are part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and consist of six museums: the Oldmasters Museum, the ...
File:Denis Calvaert 001.jpg, Denis Calvaert, 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 File:ClementedeTorres.jpg, Clemente de Torres, c. 1700, ''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena'' File:Giulio Cesare Procaccini - The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine - WGA18431.jpg, Giulio Cesare Procaccini, The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine File:Bruges Public Library MS767 v detail.jpg, Master of Margaret of York, 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; – 24 November 1492), was a Flemish courtier, bibliophile, soldier and nobleman. He was awarded the title of Earl of Winchester by K ...
. Public Library Bruges, MS 767.


See also

* Bridal theology * Syneisaktism - Christian ascetic "spiritual marriage" * Paintings: ** ''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, ...
: *** ''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)


References


Sources

*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
Catherine of Alexandria Iconography of Jesus Marriage in Christianity Virgin Mary in art