Saint Catherine of Alexandria
The original, as its museum records it
Every line above is reproduced from the holding institution’s own catalogue entry, which is linked. Where their title, date or attribution differs from ours, theirs is the one printed here.
The file this print is made from
Sizes
About this painting
The wheel is Catherine's attribute because it failed: in the Golden Legend an angel breaks the wheels, and she is beheaded instead. X-rays show the full circle underneath: Caravaggio fitted the wheel whole, then painted the break over it. The miracle went on last.
Her elbow rests on the broken wheel; the sword that worked is in both her hands, its lower blade tinted red. The dress is a princess's, the face generally taken for Fillide Melandroni, a courtesan of Caravaggio's circle. At the beheading, the legend says, milk came out of her, not blood.
Sources: the wheel first painted as a complete circle then partly overpainted to appear broken; the sword tip tinted red; the palm as the martyr's sign · Descubrir el Arte, 'Caravaggio: Santa Catalina de Alejandría' · The History Blog, 'Discovering Caravaggio's Saint Catherine', on the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza restoration · Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, EducaThyssen, 'Encuentro ante obras: el caravaggismo' · Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend, 'Of St. Katherine', in William Caxton's English · Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, collection entry, 'Saint Catherine of Alexandria' (inv. 81 (1934.37))
Printed on demand. Public-domain masterwork, reproduced from a 33,280 px master of the original. The whole image is printed — never cropped to fit the sheet — so every sheet carries an archival margin, and the dimensions and resolution listed above are the ones you receive.