St Catherine of Siena

St Catherine, Patron Saint of Italy, is shown seated in front of the Duomo of Siena, dressed in the robes of the Dominican Order, having a vision of Christ. Blossom and a carpet of spring flowers allude to feelings of renewal and hope. The picture was executed by Armfield in 1904 when the artist was living in Paris and studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. His picture Faustine was bought by the French State that year for the Musée du Luxembourg, and is now in the Musée d’Orsay. Born in Hampshire to a Quaker family, Armfield moved to study in Birmingham in 1887 under Henry Payne and Arthur Gaskin. Later he took lessons in tempera painting from Joseph Southall. Southall’s influence, and his admiration for early Italian frescoes, especially those of Benozzo Gozzoli, pervades this picture.