The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine

Depicting Saint Catherine's martyrdom, just before she is shot at by the archer at the right, this large compositional study was attributed to Andrea Vicentino by the renowned 17th-century Venetian collector Zaccaria Sagredo. Although this composition is not a direct copy after Palma il Giovane, as Sagredo implied with his annotation ‘Andrea Vicentin da Palma’, Vicentino’s arrangement of the scene seems closely inspired by Palma’s celebrated painting of the same subject in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice (1590). In developing his design, Vicentino was also indebted to Jacopo Bassano’s earlier version of the same subject (1544, Museo Civico of Bassano del Grappa), especially in the treatment of the slain bodies in the foreground. Despite being squared for transfer, no related painting is known. However, it can be compared to other drawings by Vicentino, like the Assumption of the Virgin in the British Museum (inv. 1856,0712.2), a monumental design that shows similar handling in pen and wash. The present work can be dated about 1600, when Vicentino was working in Bassano del Grappa and likely inspired by its most famous local artist.

We are grateful to Professor Stefania Mason for confirming the attribution to Vicentino on the basis of a photograph.