Spanish School, XVII century.

Spanish School, XVII century.
"Saint Catherine ".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 114 x 94 cm; 140 x 120 (frame).
Saint Catherine was born around 290 in the bosom of a noble family of Alexandria. Endowed with a great intelligence, she soon stood out for her extensive studies, which placed her at the same level as the greatest poets and philosophers of the time. One night Christ appeared to her and she decided, at that moment, to consecrate her life to him and to consider herself his fiancée, in a sort of mystical marriage. When Emperor Maximian came to Alexandria to preside over a great pagan feast, Catherine took the opportunity to try to convert him to Christianity, which aroused his anger. To test her, Maximian imposed on her a philosophical debate with fifty wise men whom she would try to convert. Catherine succeeded, provoking the emperor's wrath. The emperor had the sages executed, but not before proposing to the saint that she marry one of them, to which she flatly refused. The emperor then ordered her to be tortured using a machine with spiked wheels. Miraculously, the wheels broke when they touched Catherine's body, so she finally had to be beheaded. Although her historical existence was questioned by the Catholic Church in 1961, considering her a literary creation as a Christian counterpoint to the great pagan philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, she remains inscribed in the Roman martyrology freed from legendary narratives. Her devotion has been one of the most widespread throughout Europe, including the Orthodox Church. She is the patroness of various guilds and groups, including notaries, orators, philosophers, theologians and educated people in general. Her iconography is extensive, including the wheel and the sword of her martyrdom, the book that symbolizes her wisdom, the palm that alludes to the victory of martyrdom and the lily as a sign of her virginity. However, one of the most frequent iconographic elements in her representation is the severed head of Caesar Maximinus, which allegorically represents the saint's triumph over the pagan tyrant.