Madonna and Child with Saint Catherine
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Madonna and Child with Saint Catherine, ca. 1515, paint on panel, Gift of Mrs. Charlotte A. Maser, public domain, 69.67
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Madonna and Child with Saint Catherine
- Artist
- Date
ca. 1515
- Period
High Renaissance (late 15th-1520s)
- Medium
paint on panel
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
28 1/2 in x 22 in
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
German
- Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Charlotte A. Maser
- Accession Number
69.67
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
- Place Made
Created in: Wittenberg
Lucas Cranach settled in Wittenberg to pursue his career under Saxon court patronage. In the 1520s, the city became the seat of the Reformation, and although Cranach continued to work for Catholic patrons, he would become one of the chief artists of the new Protestant faith.
Devotional images of the Virgin remained a mainstay of every painter. Here, Mary and the Christ Child are attended by St. Catherine. The motif of the grapes eaten by the Christ Child was understood at the time as a reference to Christ's sacrifice and the wine of the Eucharist. The rainbow is symbolic of the covenant between God and man.
- Exhibitions
2015 Paradise: Fallen Fruit Portland Art Museum
