Saint Catherine of Alexandria
by Yana Maltseva
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Saint Catherine of Alexandria is one of the earliest and, in my opinion, most unique Christian Virgin Martyrs. She was born circa 282 in Egypt as a princess and then became a noted scholar of Alexandria. However, the prospect of becoming a lady of the leisure classes was not enough to satisfy Catherine, and she became a Christian. Later on, she converted hundreds of people to her new faith. At the age of eighteen, before the Emperor beheaded her in circa 305, Catherine debated against fifty Roman philosophers (Capgrave, 1). Nowadays, we know her as a patron saint of education, philosophers, and young women. Even today, thousands of Christians still pray to her. In the Catholic Church, she is considered as one of the fourteen Holy Helpers and her feast day is November 25. According to the Orthodox Church, Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a Great Martyr, whose feast day is November 24 (Ellsberg, 513). This young, smart, and innocent woman was able to speak up, convert people to her faith, and fight with such a man as the Roman emperor Maxentius. I chose this lifelike sculpture that represents the artistic style of the Late Northern Renaissance because Catherine of Alexandria can be seen as an early feminist (Henry, 20). In the many artworks, including mine, artists have depicted Emperor Maxentius underfoot of Saint Catherine. The lindenwood sculpture of Saint Catherine, which now can be viewed on the third floor of the Ahmanson Building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA), was made in Germany, Ulm, in circa 1510. This statue is 69 inches (or 5.75 feet) in height and about 1.85 feet in width. This Saint could be an inspiration for both men and women.
Statue de sainte Catherine (XVI siècle)
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Statuette; ivory; St Catherine standing on prostrate form of the Emperor; in right hand holds sword, wheel in left; mounted on modern wooden stand; painted and gilded.
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Saint Catherine
Germany, Ulm, circa 1510
Sculpture
Linden wood with traces of polychromy
69 x 22 x 17 in. (175.26 x 55.88 x 43.18 cm)
Currently on display at the LACMA
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Cristoforo Solari, Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1514- 1524), Marble, Italy;
Currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art;
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Statue de sainte Catherine
Albâtre polychromé du XVe siècle
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The material of this St. Catherine sculpture is lindenwood. Although stone objects might require less quick skills, but more time and patience, wood materials are more immediately available than other sculpture media (Rood, 13). The linden wood, or lime wood, is a natural hybrid, which is common in Northern Europe (“linden,” Concise Encyclopedia Britannica). Probably, for that reason, sculpture used exactly this medium for Catherine’s figure. The anonymous creator of this linden wood object of Saint Catherine displayed medieval conceptions about women’s beauty and innocence. She has a thin body and small breasts. Her face lines are long and soft and she has a high forehead with no hair. These attributes suggest that she is a young woman and a role model. According to her story, Catherine of Alexandria was a daughter of King Costus. She was old enough to get married and travel by herself. Because of her royal family, her crown became a constant symbol in artwork of St. Catherine; in addition, the crown served to strengthen her connection to Christ (Webber). She is often depicted with a book, a palm, and the wheel, which can be shown as either broken or whole (Lanzi, 98). Another detail that belongs to Saint Catherine is a depiction of emperor Maxentius under her feet. Judging by this sculpture, it is unlikely it is referencing anyone else but the Emperor. There is, indeed, a small figure of the Emperor underneath her feet. The figure is clothed in a medieval style, and the statue shows the power, wealth, and social status of the subject. Catherine of Alexandria refused Maxentius. The young lady was a virgin until she was martyred and had the courage to refuse the emperor. Furthermore, according to her legend, when she converted to Christianity, she also influenced the Emperor’s wife and a lot of his people (Ellsberg, 514).
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Guido Reni, Santa Catalina (1606), oil painting, 98 cm x 75 cm, Italy;
Currently on display at the Prado Museum, Madrid
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Catherine of Alexandria is a great example of a powerful woman of her time. She was not just a princess, but also a scholarly orator. For these reasons, she became the role model for young ladies in the medieval era. Many such women were not able to speak in public about their faith or reject marriage as Catherine did. In the fourteenth century, a prayer young English women often recited was the following: “A husband, St. Catherine; A handsome one, St. Catherine; A rich one, St. Catherine; A nice one, St. Catherine; And soon, St. Catherine” (Henry, 20). Additionally, St. Catherine was a hope and inspiration for women who were badly treated at home by their husbands. Catherine of Alexandria was rejected the proposal of the Emperor to become his mistress and the story of her innocence and self-respect may have also inspired courage and bravery in other medieval women. Because St. Catherine was intelligent and considered a patron saint of education and philosophy, Christian women were not only those who prayed to her, but also students, Biblical scholars, and clergy. The most popular saints were those who appealed to both women and men. St. Catherine of Alexandria appealed to both genders, because she converted over a hundred people to Christianity, she was also able to convince philosophers to convert. Over sixty-two medieval churches were named after Catherine in England. Throughout Northern Europe, we can see her depiction in many religious artworks (Henry, 19). After the beheading of St. Catherine, her bones were transported to a monastery at Mount Sinai and, according to legend, began to ooze oil that was the source of miracles (Ellsberg, 514). This oil had healing properties, which convinced many of St. Catherine’s holiness.
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St. Catherine print for sale on etsy.com
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Although Catherine of Alexandria was very important and popular in the Middle Ages, a lot of Christians today still pray to her and continue to depict her in different media around the world. On Ebay.com, there is 3D statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. This small five-inch figure is sold in Italy by Fabbri Publishing. It is clear that this object is very different from the linden wood lifelike sculpture in LACMA, though it shows us the importance of her cult even today. People continue to produce all types of artworks that depict Saint Catherine of Alexandria with her symbols. Even in this small doll we can see a big gold crown, long green palm, and a huge sword. On the print of Saint Catherine found on Etsy.com, we can see other symbols associated with this saint: the book and wheel. Surely, these artworks are not very complicated and detailed, but we can see interesting interpretations of Catherine’s legend. The colorful print from Etsy has a background that gives us a little bit information about Catherine, as there are palms and the Roman Coliseum.
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St. Catherine 3D figure for sale on eBay.com
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St. Catherine of Alexandria by Vittore CrivelliMany saints that were popular during the Middle Ages were early Christian martyrs. The miracles that had happened during the course of their lives and after their deaths were important for the Catholic Church and the devotion of the common people. People prayed to the saints because they hoped that they could intervene on their behalf. “There were over seventy portrayals of Catherine, including twenty-five portraits, seven altarpieces, two stained glass, and five illuminated manuscripts, and three frescos cycles created during the early thirteen century to the late sixteen century in Northern Europe or Italy” (Henry). She has been depicted in different ways, but the vast majority of them show Catherine as a lady in her late teens or early twenties. The tempera and gilt panel from an altarpiece by Vittore Crivelli, simply titled “St. Catherine of Alexandria” (1481), can be viewed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The present work shows us St. Catherine without any background. Her light skin is golden, she has small eyes of a dark grey or brown color, not fully opened, and the expression on her face is calm and innocently beautiful. Catherine wears a combination of red and green robe. We can see this mix of colors in clothing throughout Europe during this time. In the medieval era, red symbolized the blood of a martyr, but green was the color of freedom (Henry, 8). Catherine also has other colors in her clothing, which are associated with royalty: purple and gold, because of her noble origins. In her left hand, St. Catherine holds a palm, which is the symbol of the victory and peace (Webber), and a symbol of martyrdom in general. Moreover, in her left hand, she holds a wheel. Emperor Maxentius decided to torture and kill the young princess of Alexandria after she refused to be his mistress. However, according to the legend, when emperor decided to break her on the wheel, she touched it and the wheel was destroyed (Ellsberg, 514). After that, St. Catherine was beheaded. Because of her association to philosophers, she is also shown with a book, which she holds in her right hand. She is in fact in a philosopher’s pose, seated, holding a book and gesturing towards her listeners. Moreover, the book is the symbol of the learning and intelligence. During the medieval era, books in artworks were associated with religious learning since that type of education was only available to the clergy (Webber).
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Vittore Crivelli, St. Catherine of Alexandria (1481), Panel from an altar piece, tempera and gilt on panel, Italy;
Currently on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
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Guido Reni,Coronation of the Virgin with St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. John the Evangelist, St. John the Baptist (1596), oil painting on canvas, 253 x 197 cm;
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Saint Catherine of AlexandriaNowadays, almost everybody knows Saint Catherine of Alexandria. We can see a lot of artworks of Catherine and her symbols. According to her hagiography, Catherine was born circa 282 in Alexandria to a wealthy family of King Conatus or Costus. From her early childhood she had everything that she wanted, and lead a life of luxury in Egypt. She studied Greek and Roman languages, philosophy, medicine, and law. Even compared to rest of civilized and educated Alexandrian society, she was independent and an incredibly smart young woman, who had a mind of her own. Although she was raised in the pagan religious tradition, Catherine was not satisfied with her spiritual life. Moreover, she did not want to get married right away. However, at that time, it was very important for Alexandrian women to be married. Women were expected to be married and come under the rule of a husband—“golden cage” for wealthy ladies, who were unable to develop their own personalities and own interests. The only option Catherine had was to refuse every one of her potential suitors. Catherine told her father that she would only marry someone if that man were able to surpass her in everything: intelligence, beauty, and wealth (Simon). Her soul was not happy and she did not enjoy her own luxurious life. However, after she became a Christian around the age of fourteen, her soul finally was satisfied and she found her place in the world and started to convert hundreds of people to Christianity. She was martyred around the age of eighteen, when she rejected a proposal of Emperor Maxentius to become his mistress.
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