Oil on panel, 58.5cm by 45.5cm.
Catherine of Alexandria was martyred in the early 4th Century on the orders of the Emperor Maxentius.
Initially tied to a spiked wheel, which was to become the symbol in art of her martyrdom, she was eventually beheaded.
The painting is taken from an original composition, presumably a drawing, no longer extant, and believed to be by Giulio.
It is known only from an engraving by Giorgio Chisi and Hieronymous Cock and a drawing in the Louvre which is a copy of the lost original or of the print.
The artist’s name is written on the reverse. The painting is recorded as having come from the Costaguta or Albani Palace in Rome.
