Saint Catherine

Maker Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)

Additional Title(s)

St. Catherine

Collections

European Print Highlights

ClassificationsPRINTS

Dateca. 1620

Mediumetching

Dimensions11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (29.2 x 19.7 cm.)

InscribedInscriptions by artist (in plate): lower left: P. Paul Rubens fecit. Notations by others (verso): lower left in brown ink: C.W./Edinburgh Collectors' marks (verso): lower center: W.D.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Edward W. and Julia B. Bodman Collection

Status

Not on view

Label TextSigned by the artist, this work is often thought to be the only print that the artist himself created. The beautiful saint is shown with her attributes, including a broken wheel, an instrument of the torture she suffered for fighting the persecution of Christians. Rubens’s dramatic worm’s-eye view emphasizes her grandeur and courage, further accentuated by the spirited tilt of her head and muscular left leg extending toward the viewer.

Object number72.62.422