Virgin and Child with St Catherine (Devotional image belonging to Katharina Kerckring, neé Joris)

This painting depicting the Mystical Marriage of St Catherine. The Virgin is shown as a three-quarter length figure seated at the right with her head positioned at the centre of the image. She wears her hair loose and gently supports the naked infant Christ with both hands on her lap. He has turned towards St Catherine who is kneeling to his right and carefully places a ring on her finger. She is dressed in contemporary attire with her hair pinned up to create double buns and has tentatively been identified as a portrait of Katharina Kerckring. Her left hand grips the hilt of a large sword. Two scantily clad cherubs hold up a dark curtain behind the figurative group separating it from the expansive background beyond. The crest of a coat of arms, displaying buffalo horns and a wreath of leaves is visible on the stone block at the bottom righthand corner where the panel was cropped. It has since been identified as that of the Joris Family, resident in Lübeck and the shield can be described as follows: a gold background charged with three green wreaths with alternating red or silver roses.

[cda 2021]