The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

The present painting is an early work by the artist, datable to between 1570-80. The composition is a variant of a painting of the same subject in the Muse du Louvre, Paris (Inv. no. 2580) and the Madonna not only resembles but also wears an identical stole as that in a painting in the Galleria Nazionale, Parma (Inv. no. 399); both of which are also examples of Scarsellino's youthful artistic production (see M.A. Novelli, Lo Scarsellino, 1964, p. 38, nos. 128 and 130, fig. 6a and pl. I, respectively).