The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria

The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria

c. 1497
Location: not on view

Description

Saint Catherine was among the most popular virgin martyrs during this period and was particularly venerated in Dürer’s hometown of Nuremberg for her intermediary role between the faithful and God. A princess from Alexandria, Catherine was condemned to die on spiked wheels by the Roman emperor Maxentius because of her Christian faith. In answer to her prayers, God destroyed the wheels with such force that 4,000 pagans were killed. Afterward, Catherine was willingly decapitated. Dürer’s focus on Catherine’s peaceful acceptance in the midst of destruction conveys the power she derived from her chastity and unwavering faith, providing an excellent example for ordinary women to follow.
  • "Some Recent Accession to the Department of Prints." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 15, no. 10 (December 1928): 194-196, 198-199, 201, 207 Mentioned: p. 195; Reproduced: p. 198 www.jstor.org
  • Dürer’s Women: Images of Devotion and Desire. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 28, 2014).
    Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
    Albrecht Dürer - 500th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 19-March 28, 1971).
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).
    40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 3, 1959-January 20, 1960).
    16th Century German Woodcuts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 24-February 26, 1939).
    Prints of the Fifteenth to Twentieth Century from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 5-September 12, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=c. 1497|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1928.635