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Lot Essay
No biographical facts are known of Catherine of Alexandria. The earliest accounts of her life and martyrdom are early medieval sources, compiled by Jacobus de Voragine (circa 1230-1298) in the Legenda Aurea. According to these, she was the daughter of King Costus and renowned for her beauty and learning. Having rejected all her suitors, she was converted by a hermit to Christendom and accepted Jesus Christ as her only groom. Aged 18 she tried to convince the Emperor Maxentius (or possibly Maximianus) of the virtue of her faith. The emperor had her argue with fifty philosophers, all of whom were persuaded by her arguments. The emperor had the converts burned and condemned Catherine to death by torture. Upon her prayers, the wheel intended for her execution was destroyed by an Angel, and she was ultimately beheaded. Her attributes are the instruments of her martyrdom, the wheel and the sword.
The present etching with engraving is Rubens' only autograph print and it seems that he developed the composition specifically for this purpose, as it is not related to any of his paintings. Around the time he created this print, he was probably already employing printmakers in his workshop to produce engraved versions of his painted compositions. Perhaps he was tempted to try his hand at a copper plate himself or was persuaded by one of his collaborators to do so. We can only speculate what prompted this experiment and why it remained his only foray into printmaking. In any case, the result is remarkably assured for a first attempt, and the Saint, standing triumphantly on a cloud and seen in extreme foreshortening from below, is decidedly of the type for which the artist's name became a byword: Rubenesque.
The present etching with engraving is Rubens' only autograph print and it seems that he developed the composition specifically for this purpose, as it is not related to any of his paintings. Around the time he created this print, he was probably already employing printmakers in his workshop to produce engraved versions of his painted compositions. Perhaps he was tempted to try his hand at a copper plate himself or was persuaded by one of his collaborators to do so. We can only speculate what prompted this experiment and why it remained his only foray into printmaking. In any case, the result is remarkably assured for a first attempt, and the Saint, standing triumphantly on a cloud and seen in extreme foreshortening from below, is decidedly of the type for which the artist's name became a byword: Rubenesque.