Detail View: The AMICA Library: St. Catherine of Siena and the Beggar
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AMICA ID:
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CMA_.1966.3
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AMICA Library Year:
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2000
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Object Type:
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Paintings
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Creator Name:
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Giovanni di Paolo
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Creator Nationality:
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European; Southern European; Italian
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Creator Role:
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artist
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Creator Dates/Places:
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1884 - 1920 - 1482 - 1482 - 1482
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Gender:
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M
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Giovanni di Paolo
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Title:
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St. Catherine of Siena and the Beggar
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Title Type:
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Primary
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View:
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Full View
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Creation Date:
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1460s
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Creation Start Date:
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1460
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Creation End Date:
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1469
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Materials and Techniques:
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tempera and gold on wood
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Dimensions:
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Unframed: 28.7cm x 28.9cm
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Cleveland Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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ID Number:
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1966.3
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Credit Line:
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Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
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Rights:
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Provenance:
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S. Maria della Scala, Siena. Johann Anton Ramboux, Cologne (bought in Siena, c. 1838, Cologne sale 1867). Hohenzollern family, Sigmaringen (sold 1920). Adolphe Stoclet, Brussels (1921, sold 1966). (R. Heinemann, New York, 1966).
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Context:
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Saint Catherine (1347-1380) was the daughter of a prosperous Sienese cloth dyer. At the age of six, she saw a vision of Christ and thereafter dedicated herself to chastity, penance, and good works. She became extremely popular in Siena when she selflessly cared for the sick and dying victims of the bubonic plague, known as the Black Death.These two panels were part of the predella (or pedestal) of a large altarpiece painted for the Hospital Church of Siena. The main scene of this altarpiece, showing the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (now preserved in Siena) was ordered by the Pork-butchers Guild (the Pizzicaiuoli) in 1447. The predella was added later when Catherine was canonized in 1461. In the first panel Catherine kneels before an altar and reaches up to choose from the monastic garments offered by Saints Dominic, Augustine, and Francis, all founders of religious orders. Catherine takes the habit of Saint Dominic, which she wore as the founder of the Sisters of Penance. The second panel shows, at the right, Saint Catherine giving her cloak to a threadbare beggar. The beggar was really Christ in disguise, and at theleft he returns the cloak to her. For this act of charity, the cloak perpetually protected its wearer from the cold.
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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CMA_.1966.3.tif
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