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Image for Part of an Altarpiece with Three Scenes from the Life of Saint Catherine
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Part of an Altarpiece with Three Scenes from the Life of Saint Catherine Thumbnail

Part of an Altarpiece with Three Scenes from the Life of Saint Catherine

Flemish (Painter)
ca. 1480 (Late Medieval)
oil on panel
(Medieval Europe , Renaissance Europe )

Catherine of Alexandria was one of the most popular saints in medieval western Europe. Legend describes her as a wise and beautiful virgin of noble birth who was executed for being a Christian. This image and its two associated panels (Walters 37.2487 and 37.2488) show Catherine confronting the Roman emperor, converting the learned pagans who were supposed to disprove her Christian beliefs, and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, confounding a second group of scholars sent to visit her in prison. The panels were once part of a triptych placed behind a church altar, where the entire story of Catherine's martyrdom was illustrated.

Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Leopold Blumka, New York, prior to 1943, by purchase; Dr. R. Walter Graham, Jr., Baltimore, 1971, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1972, by gift.

Exhibitions

2012-2013 Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton.
2010-2011 From Van Eyck to Dürer: Artistic Exchanges between the Netherlands and Centeral, Eastern and Northern Europe c. 1420-1530. Groeningemuseum, Brugge.
2008-2009 Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Museum of Biblical Art, New York; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha.
1988 Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
1984-1985 Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

Conservation

Date Description Narrative
1/19/1974 Treatment technical study; examined for condition; re-framed
1/21/1977 Examination examined for condition
10/2/1984 Treatment examined for condition
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Geographies

Belgium, Flanders (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 8 1/8 x W: 6 in. (20.7 x 15.2 cm)
Framed H: 10 x W: 8 x D: 1 1/8 in. (25.4 x 20.32 x 2.86 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. R. Walter Graham, Jr., 1972

Location in Museum

Not on view

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

37.2486

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Related Objects

Image for Saint Catherine Converting the Scholars

Saint Catherine Converting the Scholars

Flemish
ca. 1480 (Late Medieval)
view details
Image for Saint Catherine Confronting the Emperor

Saint Catherine Confronting the Emperor

Flemish
ca. 1480 (Late Medieval)
view details

Hours

  • Wednesday—Sunday: 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
  • Monday—Tuesday: Closed

Location

600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

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