16th century, by Paolo Veronese, Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

16th century, by Paolo Veronese Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Oil on canvas, cm 76 x 80 With frame cm 97.5 x 102.5 The canvas under examination is a reprise of a famous painting by Paolo Caliari, known as Paolo Veronese (Venice, 1528 – Venice, 1588), now preserved at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, formerly located on the high altar of the church of S. Caterina. The work was created by the great Venetian master around 1571 and was already particularly admired in ancient times, as evidenced by the engraving made by Agostino Caracci in 1582 and the words of praise present in Boschini's Carta del Navegar Pitoresco (1660), which celebrates its chromatic splendor in this way: “If you can say that 'The Painters, to make these effects, / gold has mixed pearls, and rubies, / and emeralds, and sapphires more than fine, / and purest, and perfect diamonds'”. The scene depicted is the mystical marriage between Catherine of Alexandria and Christ, an iconography that originated in the 15th century and in many cases preferred over the more bloody martyrdom of the saint with the wheel. In Veronese's version, the sacred scene seems to take on the appearance of a luxurious sixteenth-century feast: Saint Catherine is dressed according to the fashion of the time, with lavish clothes and precious jewels, and approaches the Virgin, surrounded by musician angels and curious observers. Our painter, admiring Veronese, selects only a part of the large altarpiece, placing the exchange of the ring between the Christ child and the saint at the center of the observer's attention, arranged along the diagonal of the staircase, on which the entire composition is dynamically constructed. The lively colorism, rich in luminosity of Caliari, is maintained, although some precious details are lost, such as the lavish jewels around the saint's neck or the pre-Baroque fantasy of angels in flight, while other elements undergo modifications, as if the painter or the client wanted to attribute a character of greater sobriety to the painting, for a more austere private devotion.