Legend of Catherine of Alexandria · From scholarly dispute to the broken wheel

A learned princess and virgin martyr, Saint Catherine of Alexandria confronts the emperor, survives the torture of the wheel then is decapitated; wheel, sword, palm and crown make his story immediately readable.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria belongs to the great legendary tradition of Christian martyrs. Presented as a noble, educated and eloquent young woman, she refused pagan worship and defended her faith before the emperor. The philosophers responsible for refuting her are convinced by her argument. Catherine is then imprisoned and then condemned to the torture of a wheel filled with points. The instrument miraculously breaks before she is decapitated. This succession of episodes offers painters several subjects: scholarly dispute, imprisonment, miracle of the wheel, decapitation or apotheosis. The broken wheel becomes its most famous attribute; the sword recalls his death, the palm its martyrdom and the crown its princely status. The artists organize the stage according to very different intentions. Gallego accumulates figures, details and episodes in a dense Gothic narration. Cranach shows the collective shock of torture and the precision of the instrument. Patinier takes the event away into a vast landscape, forcing the eye to travel the world before finding the saint. Guido Reni and Guercino favor individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine combines intelligence, constancy and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine favors individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine favors individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine favors individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine favors individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine favors individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to the baroque canvas, Catherine favors individual presence, light and elevation of the face. From the medieval panel to by Saint Catherine - Fernando Gallego and The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine - Cranach. Its reading favors figures.

The wheel was to silence Catherine; broken in the image, it becomes on the contrary the lasting sign of his victory.