Saint Catherine of Siena
The Florentine painter Carlo Dolci was a
true child prodigy; already painting portraits of high quality by
the age of fifteen! While he painted a number of large scale
altarpieces and portraits, Dolci’s reputation rests chiefly on his
portraits of meticulous, small scale devotional works, of which
this painting is a beautiful example.
The painting depicts Saint Catherine: a
17th-century Tertiary of the Dominican Order of nuns, a
scholastic philosopher as well as theologian.
Dolci depicts her in the Dominican habit, her head adorned with
a crown of thorns. These refer to a vision where Christ offered her
the choice between a crown of gold and a crown of thorns. Having
chosen the latter, this picture is a message of modesty over
wealth, suffering over comfort, piety over greed and restraint over
desire.
Conservation Work Required
There are many small damages to the panel beneath the oil paint,
which require painstaking attention and fine retouching.
How much will it cost?
£3,300