Francisco de Zurbarán, The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena, c. 1645

Francisco de Zurbarán

(1598–1664)

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena

c. 1645

Oil on canvas

46 3/8 x 41 1/8 in. (117.8 x 104.5 cm)

Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas. Algur H. Meadows Collection, MM.67.14

Hear Akemi Luisa Herráez Vossbrink, 2020–2021 Center for Spain in America (CSA) Curatorial Fellow at the Meadows Museum discuss this work (1:54 minutes)

Escucha a Akemi Luisa Herráez Vossbrink, 2020–2021 Center for Spain in America (CSA) Curatorial Fellow en el Meadows Museum comentar esta obra (2:07 minutos)

Audio Transcript/Transcripción del audio

Francisco de Zurbarán The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena, c. 1645

by Akemi Luisa Herráez Vossbrink, 2020–2021 Center for Spain in America (CSA) Curatorial Fellow at the Meadows Museum

English

This mystical event took place in 1366 when Christ and the Virgin appeared during the Saint’s prayers. Unlike other accounts and representations of mystical marriages, in which Christ appeared as a child, here he is shown as a full-grown man. With his purple and pink robes, he is also the most beautifully rendered figure. Meanwhile, Catherine dons the black-and-white Dominican habit and holds a book alluding to her theological writings. The Virgin is the faintest figure relegated to the background blessing the union. Together the group forms a triangular composition enveloped by a circle of angels and clouds combining into a circular halo. The Saint is elevated to the celestial realm during this heavenly marriage.

Francisco de Zurbarán was best-known for his dark tenebrist compositions which gradually lightened to accommodate the evolving stylistic tastes. Zurbarán was mostly active in Seville where he was renowned as painter of the religious orders. With the help of his prominent workshop, he produced full-length representations of saints, apostles, archangels, noblemen and other subjects for the local and transatlantic markets. This scene of the marriage of Saint Catherine has been considered part of the upper register of an altarpiece in a Dominican monastery, as the Saint was a member of the Dominican order. Alternatively, it may have been conceived as an individual painting for private devotion.

En español

El evento místico tuvo lugar en 1366 cuando Cristo y la Virgen aparecieron mientras rezaba la santa. Justo después Santa Catalina se casó con Cristo, ante la presencia de la Virgen, consagrándose al Señor. A diferencia de otras relaciones y representaciones de bodas místicas, en las cuales Cristo apareció como un niño, aquí aparece como un adulto. Es la figura más bella con sus túnicas moradas y rosas. Mientras tanto, Catalina lleva un hábito dominicano blanco y negro y sujeta un libro aludiendo a sus escrituras teológicas. La Virgen es la figura más tenue relegada al fondo mientras bendice la unión. El grupo sigue una composición triangular rodeada por un círculo de ángeles y nubes formando una aureola circular. La santa se eleva a una esfera celestial durante este matrimonio divino.

Francisco de Zurbarán era famoso por sus composiciones oscuras tenebristas que gradualmente se aclaraban acomodándose a la evolución de estilos. Zurbarán estaba más activo en Sevilla donde era reconocido como pintor de las órdenes religiosas. Con la ayuda de su taller destacado, produjo representaciones de cuerpo entero de santos, apóstoles, arcángeles, nobles y otras temáticas para el mercado local y transatlántico. Esta escena del matrimonio de Santa Catalina se ha considerado parte del registro superior de un altar en un monasterio dominico ya que la santa pertenecía a la orden dominica. Otra alternativa es que se concibió como una pintura individual para devoción privada.

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Object Label

Although Francisco de Zurbarán is best known today for his early tenebristic paintings, the body of his work demonstrates an ability to modify his style to meet the expressive demands of his subjects and the changing preferences of his patrons. This work exhibits a bright palette and softened modeling that are both appropriate for the visionary subject and are considered by some experts typical of the works produced in the later years of the artist’s career, when public taste in his home city of Seville had turned toward gentler and more sentimentalized religious art.

The luminous ground and subtle color harmonies of this work set a fitting tone for its subject, the visionary marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena. The work illustrates a vision experienced by the young, devout Catherine in which she was chosen by Christ as his celestial spouse. Saint Catherine of Siena can be identified by the saint’s black and white Dominican habit and her vision of the adult, rather than the infant, Christ.