Biographical Icon of St. Catherine of Alexandria

Painting

-

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

Biographical Icon of St. Catherine of Alexandria

Entry/Object ID

2005.02.045

Description

Tempera on curved wood panel with red, blue, and mustard yellow border. Black Cyrillic captions (12 total) are in the mustard yellow border on the outside of the scenes they represent. The middle image features a woman standing on dark rolling hills with small white castle in the back left. She wears a gold rounded crown in red cape, blue tunic with gold embellishments over pale pink gown looking to the left with both arms gesturing that direction. In the upper left corner is Christ in blue and pink robes in the clouds looking back and holding script & three finger blessing gesture towards the woman. Around this image are 12 smaller images depicting different scenes in the woman's (St. Catherine, labelled in each scene in black Cyrillic above her head) life with gold leaf halos.

Type of Painting

Panel

Artwork Details

Medium

Tempera

Collection

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2005.02

Source or Donor

Betsy Scheuring

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Made/Created

Date made

1800 - 1850

Place

* Untyped Place

Kostroma, Russia

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Icon

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Symbol, Religious

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Religious Objects

Nomenclature Class

Ceremonial Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

13-1/2 in

Width

11-1/4 in

Depth

1-1/4 in

Exhibition

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

St. Catherine appears dressed as a princess with a crown and royal vestments, her hands lifted in prayer to Jesus, located above her in the clouds. She is standing in a rugged landscape with a building in the distance. The twelve scenes in the border tell the story of her life and martyrdom. According to legend, Catherine was a highly educated princess of Alexandria and a very devout Christian, who in a vision saw herself betrothed to the infant Christ. The emperor Maxentius (reigned 306-312) demanded that she renounce her faith, but she instead defeated his philosophers in argument and converted them to Christianity. Maxentius also tried to have her torn to pieces by two spiked wheels, but the wheels were struck by lightning and destroyed. Finally, Catherine was beheaded, and according to tradition, her remains were brought to the monastery at Mt. Sinai which bears her name. She is often shown with a broken wheel as her principal attribute.