Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine (Michelino da Besozzo)

Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine

Artist	Michelino da Besozzo
Year	c. 1420
Type	Tempera on panel
Dimensions	78 cm × 58 cm (31 in × 23 in)
Location	Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine is a painting by the Italian late medieval painter Michelino da Besozzo, dating from c. 1420 and housed in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Siena, Italy.

It is the only signed work by the Gothic painter, as well as his only certain one alongside with a Marriage of the Virgin in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.

Description

The painting shows the Virgin holding the Child on her knees while the latter, through a ring, celebrates the symbolic mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who is kneeling in front of him. The latter wears precious clothes, including a wide fur-lined rose cloak and gilt crown; her long, blond hair is also 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 pork, at his feet.

In the gilt background is tha artist' signature, "Michelinus feci", located under the Virgin's mantle. The saints' names are also written next to them.

Sources

• L'arte italiana. Florence: Giunti. 2000. ISBN 8809017706.