Sofonisba Anguissola - The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

This painting by Sophonisba Anguissola was recently discovered, making it an extraordinary new addition to her small known body of religious works. Signed and dated by Anguissola herself, it is in an outstanding state of conservation, and only required a slight intervention to participate in the exhibition A Tale of Two Women Painters, curated by Leticia Ruiz and held at the Museo del Prado in 2019, the first time the painting was seen in public. The work shows the episode of the mystic marriage between Christ and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, as reported in the Golden Legend. The iconography of the mystic marriage depicts the moment of Catherine's conversion to Christianity. The text tells how, after being baptized, the young woman had a vision. In heaven, among angels and saints, Our Lady appeared to her with the child Jesus on her lap, who slipped a ring on Catherine's finger, making her his bride. The date of the work, 1588, indicates that it was painted in Genoa, the city where Sophonisba Anguissola lived between 1580 and 1615, when she enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle that enabled her to devote herself fully to painting. This leads us to believe that this was where she directly encountered the work by the same name by Luca Cambiasso, one of the top representatives of the Genoese school. The artist may have been interested in this new iconography, which shows a Christ child grown and very strongly resembling his mother, which humanizes his figure and gives him a more important role in the scene. The child, descended from the tronum sapienzi of his mother, reveals all his intimacy and maternal love, with the splendid posture of his legs. The elderly woman, witness to the miraculous event, could be Saint Anne. The saint's clothing is richer here, with glimmers in the cloth and silk sleeves that are not found in Cambiasso's work. Although it faithfully follows Cambiasso's original, Sophonisba Anguissola's work has some nuances that make it unique. Sophonisba Anguissola also makes the crown more detailed and luxurious, and adds pearls, a symbol of purity, to the headdress. They also adorn the sleeve, with a beautiful design. Sapphires, alternating with pearls, symbolize the complete expression of the saint's spiritual aspirations and subsequent elevation. If Catherine defines her kingship with dress codes, Mary and Jesus express it, as in ancient classical effigies, with their profile images, giving greater prominence to their status. The pink color of their robes, expresses all their nobility and the solemnity of the event. Yellow turned to gold, blue and red, the primary colors, determine the exclusivity of this relationship, which has in the apex of the joined hands of the child and Catherine the apex of the composition. A gestural code expressed admirably by the two artists. The landscape, along with the curtain that protects the characters, organizes the scene. The red tent, becomes synecdoche for the temple. The earth and sky symbolically reiterate the miraculous nature of the event. Another of Anguissola's contributions is the composition of the floor, with a step on the lower edge that frames the scene, from which small bunches of flowers are blossoming. Anguissola does not depict plants in great detail in her paintings, but in this one she distinguishes different specimens, connoted by a specific symbology. Violets, a symbol of modesty and depth of feeling, but also of untimely death, thus evoke the martyrdom of the saint, here reiterated by the wheel. The daisy is a symbol of humility, but with its dual hue it evokes the wedding between the sun and the moon. In this case the mystical wedding between Jesus and the saint. Feverfew, or Parthenium, whose etymology indicates the condition of a virgin maiden. The bare-root rose is the bearer of generous and healing love. Catherine's suffering has in Jesus' love the cure to her torment. The delicate coloring, soft modeling and elegant intimacy among the figures, whose proportions are slightly elongated, bring a mildness and serenity that distinguish the composition. A quality that characterizes this beautiful work, perhaps even better than in the illustrious model.