Female Martyr with Angels (Saint Catherine of Alexandria?), Parmigianino
Parmigianino
Female Martyr with Angels (Saint Catherine of Alexandria?)
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Parmigianino

Female Martyr with Angels (Saint Catherine of Alexandria?), ca. 1523 – 1524


Dimensions
25.6 x min. 17.3 x 0.4 cm
maximum width
18.4 cm
Physical Description
Poplar
Inventory Number
1496
Acquisition
Acquired in 1913 as a gift from Baroness Beaulieu-Maconnay, née Grunelius
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 15

Texts

About the Work

This small-format panel painting by the Italian master Parmigianino shows a young woman sitting elegantly on the forest floor. She is accompanied by two nude boys, putti or angels, who are busy with a palm frond. The young woman is holding a twig in her left hand in a delicate gesture; her robe of white and brown fabric falls gracefully around her body. The scene is so charming that we scarcely notice how overdrawn the young woman's legs are, or that the head of the boy on the right-hand edge of the picture is extremely overwrought. Parmigianino consciously sacrificed the proportions in favour of artistic expression and a composition which links all three figures together.

About the Acquisition

The donor of this picture was Baroness Emilie Margarethe Beaulieu-Marconnay, née Grunelius (1841–1929). She came from a long-established Frankfurt banking family which consistently distinguished itself by its extremely generous endowments to social and educational causes, as well as to the benefit of Frankfurt’s cultural life.

Audio

  • Basic information
    01:23
  • Focus on art history
    02:09
  • Focus on material
    01:04
  • Focus on religion
    01:17

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Female Martyr with Angels (Saint Catherine of Alexandria?)
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Poplar
Material
Technique

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1913 as a gift from Baroness Beaulieu-Maconnay, née Grunelius

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 11QQ14 martyr(s) (often with palm-branches) - QQ - female martyr
  • 31AA2351 sitting on the ground - AA - female human figure
  • 11G191 angel(s) represented as child(ren)
Secondary
  • 11G23 angels crowning and/or bringing palm-branches

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Last update

11.09.2023