St Catherine of Alexandria
Relief
ca. 1480 (made)
ca. 1480 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Here St Catherine of Alexandria tramples the small figure of her persecutor the Emperor Maxentius underfoot. In her right hand she holds the wheel on which she was tortured. In her left hand she holds the sword with which she was beheaded. The border of her halo has an inscription. In translation it reads: 'O Saint Catherine pray for us'.
This relief is part of a small group of rectangular plaques. They are made of either red terracotta or white pipeclay. All four reliefs are of a similar size and very similar in style. The other three, however, are set in a vaulted chapel-like space or niche. Such plaques must have been used as objects of personal devotion in monasteries, convents, hospitals and the home.
St Catherine was especially revered as the bride of Christ and protectress of the dying. This relief would therefore have been well sited in a hospital. It might also have been used as a travelling icon for those near death.
This relief is part of a small group of rectangular plaques. They are made of either red terracotta or white pipeclay. All four reliefs are of a similar size and very similar in style. The other three, however, are set in a vaulted chapel-like space or niche. Such plaques must have been used as objects of personal devotion in monasteries, convents, hospitals and the home.
St Catherine was especially revered as the bride of Christ and protectress of the dying. This relief would therefore have been well sited in a hospital. It might also have been used as a travelling icon for those near death.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | St Catherine of Alexandria (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted terracotta in low relief, casted from a mould |
| Brief description | Panel relief, St. Catherine of Alexandria, terracotta, North Netherlands, Utrecht, ca. 1480 |
| Physical description | Full length figure of St. Catherine of Alexandria, holding in her right hand a wheel, and in her left a sword |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mr G. H. Morland |
| Object history | Historical significance: The relief was produced by one of the Utrecht workshops exporting figures and reliefs in terracotta and pipeclay. Their products were imitated by other workshops in Colonne and Westphalia. The presentation of the figure as a three-dimensional statue, placed on an architectural bracket against a background imitating a brocaded textile, continues a convention of representing space in two-dimensional images. This was already seen in Netherlandish painting in the early 1400s. |
| Historical context | This relief is part of a small group of rectangular plaques. They are made of either red terracotta or white pipeclay. All four reliefs are of a similar size and very similar in style. The other three, however, are set in a vaulted chapel-like space or niche. Such plaques must have been used as objects of personal devotion in monasteries, convents, hospitals and the home. St Catherine was especially revered as the bride of Christ and protectress of the dying. This relief would therefore have been well sited in a hospital. It might also have been used as a travelling icon for those near death. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Here St Catherine of Alexandria tramples the small figure of her persecutor the Emperor Maxentius underfoot. In her right hand she holds the wheel on which she was tortured. In her left hand she holds the sword with which she was beheaded. The border of her halo has an inscription. In translation it reads: 'O Saint Catherine pray for us'. This relief is part of a small group of rectangular plaques. They are made of either red terracotta or white pipeclay. All four reliefs are of a similar size and very similar in style. The other three, however, are set in a vaulted chapel-like space or niche. Such plaques must have been used as objects of personal devotion in monasteries, convents, hospitals and the home. St Catherine was especially revered as the bride of Christ and protectress of the dying. This relief would therefore have been well sited in a hospital. It might also have been used as a travelling icon for those near death. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 7703-1861 |
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| Record created | December 11, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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