H. Catharina 1613

Jacob Matham made this engraving of H. Catharina sometime between his birth in 1571 and death in 1631. It presents Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a popular figure in the religious imagination of the time. The image creates meaning through established visual codes. Catherine’s halo, the broken wheel, and the sword evoke her martyrdom for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Looking more closely, the architecture in the background and the finely dressed figure of Catherine herself speak to the social status of the church and its members at the time this engraving was made in the Netherlands. In representing Catherine with such opulence, is Matham celebrating the church or critiquing its growing wealth? As an art historian, it's my job to consider these questions. By researching the economic structures of the Dutch Republic, the rise of merchant power, and the social function of religious imagery, we can better understand the complex relationship between art and society in the early modern period.