Portrait of a Woman as Saint Catherine

About the Artwork

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian, was martyred for refusing to make sacrifices to idols as decreed by the pagan Roman emperor Maxentius. While Maxentius first attempted to slay Catherine with spiked wheels, the machine broke when she prayed for salvation, and the emperor subsequently beheaded her. Catherine is identified in portraits through objects related to her martyrdom, such as a broken wheel, or a palm branch symbolizing the victory of the eternal spirit over mortal flesh. In sixteenth-century Florence, patrician women were often portrayed as such exemplary figures, indicating the virtues of the sitter.

Provenance

Riccardi Gallery, Florence, Italy, sold to James Jackson Jarves ? - 1884: James Jackson Jarves (1818-1888), sold to Liberty Emery Holden 1884-1913: Liberty Emery Holden, Cleveland, OH (1833-1913), by descent to his wife 1913-1916: Mrs. Liberty Emery Holden (Delia Elizabeth Bulkley, 1838-1932), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1916-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916). The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: Pier Francesco Foschi (Italian, 1502–1567)
Date: c. 1560
Medium: oil on wood
Dimensions: Framed: 116 x 93 x 11 cm (45 11/16 x 36 5/8 x 4 5/16 in.); Unframed: 95 x 71.3 cm (37 3/8 x 28 1/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Holden Collection
Accession no.: 1916.825

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.