| Artist | |
|---|---|
| Culture | Italian |
| Date | 1421 |
| Object type | painting |
| Medium, technique | tempera and gold on poplar |
| Dimensions | with partly original frame: 290 × 220 × 21.5 cm central panel: 147 × 168.5 cm predella (each): 23 × 50 cm pilaszter image (each): 36 × 15 cm |
| Inventory number | 1139 |
| Collection | Old Master Paintings |
| On view | Museum of Fine Arts, First Floor, European Art 1250-1600, Gallery XII |
According to legend, the beautiful and wise princess, Saint Catherine, had a dream in which Jesus took her as his bride. This popular story was painted by Giovanni dal Ponte in accordance with the social customs of the time: the ceremony was usually conducted by the head of the family or by a notary, but here the role is assumed by Mary, Mother of Jesus, while four angels act as witnesses. The altarpiece was commissioned by a well-to-do master saddler, Lapo di Tommaso, for an altar in the Church of San Jacopo sopr’Arno in Florence. He and his wife, Margherita, both depicted on a smaller scale than the holy figures, can be seen in the lower corners of the main scene, praying for their souls. The pilasters framing the central panel feature the couple’s personal patron saints, while the predella, or base of the altarpiece, is adorned with scenes showing Saint Catherine’s missionary work, her imprisonment, and her martyrdom. This work occupies an important place in the history of art: it was one of the first altarpieces to have a central section consisting of a single rectangular panel, and is the earliest whose original structure (apart from the top part of the frame) has survived intact.
Pigler, Andor, Katalog der Galerie Alter Meister, 1-2. Museum der Bildenden Künste, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, p. 554-555.
Boskovits, Miklós, Toszkán kora reneszánsz táblaképek: Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest – Keresztény Múzeum, Esztergom, Corvina, Budapest, 1968, no. 2-3.
Sbaraglio, Lorenzo, “Lo Sposalizio di Santa Caterina di Giovanni dal Ponte, una capella poco nota del Brunelleschi e i primordi della “pala quadra””, Bulletin du Musée Hongrois des Beaux-Arts/Szépművészeti Múzeum Közleményei 112/113 (2011), p. 63-86, 231-246.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.
