Italy, Siena / 1460s
Predella Panel from an Altarpiece: St. Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican Habit
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Predella Panel from an Altarpiece: St. Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican Habit as painting (Italy, Siena · 1460s).
Saint Dominic can be identified by his black and white habit and the lilies he holds.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as tempera and gold on wood panel and credits Giovanni di Paolo (Italian, c. 1403–1482).
The museum's collection notes: Saint Catherine (1347–1380) was the daughter of a prosperous Sienese cloth dyer. At the age of six, she saw a vision of Christ and thereafter dedicated herself to chastity, penance, and good works. She became extremely popular in Siena when she selflessly cared for the sick and dying victims of the bubonic plague, known as the Black Death. These panels were once part of a predella (or pedestal) of a large altarpiece painted for the Hospital Church of Siena. The main scene of this altarpiece, showing the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (now preserved in Siena) was ordered by the Pork Butchers Guild (the Pizzicaiuoli) in 1447. The predella
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPredella Panel from an Altarpiece: St. Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican HabitOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.