Saint Catherine Reading by Monogrammist WAH

Saint Catherine Reading c. 1480 - 1490

drawing, print, ink, engraving

portrait

drawing

medieval

narrative-art

pen drawing

print

figuration

ink

12_15th-century

cityscape

history-painting

northern-renaissance

engraving

miniature

"Saint Catherine Reading" is a woodcut print attributed to the Monogrammist WAH and dated to c. 1480-1490. The print depicts Saint Catherine, a popular figure in medieval religious art, seated in a garden and absorbed in her book. The setting is carefully rendered with a detailed backdrop of a city and a small, decorative structure in the background. This print is a fine example of late-Gothic art, showcasing the artist's skillful use of line and detail to create a visually rich and evocative image. The print currently resides in the Städel Museum.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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Owing to its small format, this engraving—of which only a single print has survived—is well suited to being pasted in, for example, a prayer book. The saint sits on a grassy bank and reads a book, behind her a city (or sprawling castle complex) rendered with great fondness for detail. At her feet lie the instruments of her martyrdom. According to the legend, she was initially to be tortured on a wheel, which broke to pieces. In the end she was beheaded with a sword.