The Beheading of St Catherine

Title

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, no. 74]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood	[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, no. 21]
oak wood	[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84-85, No. 74]

St Catherine kneels in the centre of the foreground wearing a black dress with a gold brocade collar. The henchman stands behind her to the right and removes her long blond curls from the nape of her neck. A group of figures stands in the middle distance on the right and a further group with two men on horseback is positioned in the middle distance on the left. Another scene from the legend of St Catherine is illustrated in the background. It depicts the storm destroying the wheel on which the saint was to be martyred.

Attribution: Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, no. 21]
[Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005, no. 5]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84-85, no. 74]

Production date: about 1515

Production date

about 1515

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, no. 21]
[Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005, no. 5]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84-85, no. 74]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 84 x 58 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 84 x 58 cm
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84-85, no. 74]
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, no. 21]

Signature / Dating: none

Owner: Archdiocese of Olomouc
Repository: Archbishop's Castle and Gardens Kromeríz
Location: Kromeríz

CDA ID: CZ_ESGK_KE2371
FR (1978) Nr.: FR074
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_ESGK_KE2371/

Connected Works

Provenance

made for Stanislaus Thurzo, and possibly originally installed in the Cathedral of St Wenzel or in the collegial church of St Moritz in Olmütz
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, no. 21]

Exhibitions

Frankfurt 2008, no. 21

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Exhib. Cat. Prague 2016

91, 92

Editor	Olga Kotková
Title	Cranach. Ze všech stran. From all sides.
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2016
Pages	16-180

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Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007

159-161

p. 161

Editor	Bodo Brinkmann
Title	Cranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of Publication	Ostfildern
Year of Publication	2007

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Schade 2007

Author	Werner Schade
Title	Cranachs Berührung durch die Niederlande. Antinomien einer Reisebetrachtung
Publication	in Bodo Brinkmann, ed., Cranach der Ältere, Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt
Place of Publication	Ostfildern
Year of Publication	2007
Pages	91-97

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Chamonikola 2005 B

14 (English version 6)

Author	Kaliopi Chamonikola
Title	Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme/ Lucas Cranach and the Czech Lands
Publication	in Kaliopi Chamonikola, ed., Pod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme, Under the winged Serpent, Lucas Cranach and the Czech Lands, Exhib. Prague 2005
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2005
Pages	13-33 (6-15)

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Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005

54, 55 (English version 24, 25)

Pl. p. 55

Editor	Obrazárna Pražského hradu, Kaliopi Chamonikola
Title	Pod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme. Under the winged Serpent. Lucas Cranach and the Czech Land
Place of Publication	Prague
Year of Publication	2005

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Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979

84-85

No. 74

Fig. 74

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Editor	G. Schwartz
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Basel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication	1979

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Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	1932
Link	http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932

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Research History / Discussion

The pendant to this painting depicts the beheading of St John the Baptist and is in the same collection (FR73).

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 84-85, no. 74]

Both panels may once have been the verso of wing panels belonging to a triptych.

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2008, 159, no. 20]

The Beheading of St Catherine, about 1515

Images

Technical studies

02. 2008Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details and the facial features

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Elder?

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

Versions

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'The Beheading of St Catherine', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_ESGK_KE2371/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'The Beheading of St Catherine', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CZ_ESGK_KE2371/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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