The infant Jesus responds with playful enthusiasm to an adoring Saint Catherine, a princess identified by pearls and a martyr’s palm. She was esteemed as an intercessor for young women because of the "mystical marriage" that bound her to Christ. The picture’s warm humanity and elegantly rhythmic composition reflect Van Dyck’s great admiration for Titian, Veronese, and other artists during his years in Italy (1621–27).
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Fig. 1. Painting in frame: overall
Fig. 2. Painting in frame: corner
Fig. 3. Painting in frame: angled corner
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Fig. 4. Profile drawing of frame. W 6 7/16 in. 16.3 cm (T. Newbery)
Artwork Details
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Title:Virgin and Child with Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Artist:Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, Antwerp 1599–1641 London)
Date:ca. 1630
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:43 x 35 3/4 in. (109.2 x 90.8 cm); with added strips 44 1/8 x 37 in. (112.1 x 94 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Bequest of Lillian S. Timken, 1959
Accession Number:60.71.5
This superb picture was painted by Van Dyck about 1630 in Antwerp, where it was engraved by Schelte à Bolswert. By 1754 the canvas was hanging in the same city’s Church of the Recollects (or Minorites), but it is not known if it was painted for that or another Franciscan institution. In its scale and tender feeling the picture seems ideally suited to private devotion. However, the sheer volume and variety of Van Dyck’s religious works of the second Antwerp period, about 1627–32, discourage speculation about the original owner.
The figure to the right is very probably Saint Catherine of Alexandria, since the string of pearls in her hair would be consistent with her supposed birth as a princess. A martyr’s palm is included but not the saint’s intended instrument of martyrdom, a wheel. However, this primary attribute of Saint Catherine was omitted by Italian artists that Van Dyck admired, and the composition strongly resembles contemporary paintings of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, including Van Dyck’s own, of about 1630–31, in the Royal Collection, London. The apples above and roses to the upper left refer not to the saint but to the Virgin.
During his years in Italy (1621–27) Van Dyck responded above all to Titian, and this picture certainly reflects that experience. However, the flowing lines of the composition, the continuous and almost circular movement of the figures, and the very close vantage point (we seem to share Catherine’s view of the Christ Child) are Van Dyck’s distinctive versions of Baroque intensity. A comparison with Jacob Jordaens’s Adoration of the Shepherds, of 1616, in the Museum’s collection (67.187.76), helps to clarify Van Dyck’s distance from Titian’s own time and also the fact that such grace and beauty could never have been acquired while remaining (as Jordaens did) at home.
[2012]
?Church of the Récollets, Antwerp (by 1754–at least 1774); Welbore Ellis Agar, London (until d. 1805; projected sale, Christie's, London, May 2, 1806, no. 57; sold privately to Earl Grosvenor); Robert, Earl Grosvenor, later 1st Marquess of Westminster, Grosvenor House, London (1806–d. 1845; cat., 1821, no. 96); his son, Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, Grosvenor House (1845–d. 1869); his son, Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster (1869–d. 1899); his grandson, Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (1899–1924; sale, Christie's, London, July 4, 1924, no. 56, for £3,150 to Colnaghi); [Colnaghi, London, and Knoedler, New York, 1924–26; sold to Timken]; Mr. and Mrs. William R. Timken, New York (1926–49); Mrs. William R. (Lillian S.) Timken, New York (1949–d. 1959)
London. Burlington Fine Arts Club. "Exhibition of the Works of Old Masters," 1871, no. 23 (lent by the Marquis of Westminster) [see Liedtke 1984].
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," 1871, no. 214 (lent by the Marquis of Westminster).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," 1876, no. 113 (lent by the Duke of Westminster, K.G.).
London. Grosvenor Gallery. "Exhibition of the Works of Sir Anthony van Dyck," Summer 1887, no. 51 (lent by the Duke of Westminster, K.G.).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," January 6–March 14, 1896, no. 114 (lent by the Duke of Westminster, K.G.).
Antwerp. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten. "Van Dijck Tentoonstelling," August 12–October 15, 1899, no. 7 (as "The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine," lent by the Duke of Westminster).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Exhibition of Works by Van Dyck," January 1–March 10, 1900, no. 41 (as "The Marriage of Saint Catherine," lent from the collection of the late Duke of Westminster).
Detroit Institute of Arts. "Eighth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters, Paintings by Anthony van Dyck," April 3–20, 1929, no. 19 (lent by Mr. and Mrs. William R. Timken, N.Y.).
New York. World's Fair. "Masterpieces of Art: European Paintings and Sculpture from 1300–1800," May–October 1939, no. 103 (lent by Mr. and Mrs. William R. Timken, New York).
Leningrad [St. Petersburg]. State Hermitage Museum. "100 Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum," May 22–July 27, 1975, no. 19.
Moscow. State Pushkin Museum. "100 Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum," August 28–November 2, 1975, no. 19.
Art Museum, Princeton University. "Van Dyck as Religious Artist," April 7–May 20, 1979, no. 39.
Milan. Palazzo Reale. "Anton van Dyck: Riflessi italiani," February 19–June 20, 2004, no. 27.
J. B. Descamps. La Vie des peintres flamands, allemands et hollandois. Vol. 2, Paris, 1754, p. 23, refers to a painting, probably our picture, in the Church of the Récollets, Antwerp.
Description des principaux ouvrages de peinture et sculpture . . . de la ville d'Anvers. 4th ed. Antwerp, 1763, p. 63, no. 9, locates a picture, probably ours, in the Church of the Récollets, Antwerp.
G[uillaume]. P[ierre]. Mensaert. Le Peintre amateur et curieux . . . Brussels, 1763, vol. 1, p. 205, as in the Church of the Récollets, Antwerp, and engraved by Schelte à Bolswert.
J. de Wit. Beschryvinge van alle de Kerken van Antwerpen. Vol. 2, Antwerp, 1774, p. 75 [published as "De Kerken van Antwerpen," Antwerp and The Hague, 1910; see Ref. Liedtke 1984], as in the Church of the Récollets and engraved by S. à Bolswert.
John Young. A Catalogue of the Pictures at Grosvenor House, London. London, 1821, p. 34, no. 96, pl. 34, as "The Marriage of St. Catherine," from the Agar collection.
John Smith. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters. Vol. 3, London, 1831, p. 3, no. 3, as "The Marriage of St. Catherine," formerly in the Church of the Récollets, Antwerp; notes that it is probably the same picture as the one from the Agar and Grosvenor collections.
G[ustav]. F[riedrich]. Waagen. Works of Art and Artists in England. London, 1838, vol. 2, p. 305, as in the Grosvenor Gallery, and engraved by Abraham Blooteling.
G[ustav]. F[riedrich]. Waagen. Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris. Vol. 2, Kunstwerke und Künstler in England. Berlin, 1838, p. 117.
Georg Rathgeber. Annalen der Niederländischen Malerei, Formschneide und Kupferstecherkunst. Gotha, 1844, part 4, col. 96, as in the Grosvenor Gallery.
[Gustav Friedrich] Waagen. Treasures of Art in Great Britain. London, 1854, vol. 2, p. 165.
Percy Rendell Head. Van Dyck. London, 1879, pp. 32, 82, ill. opp. p. 34 (engraving), as the "Marriage of Saint Catherine," from the Church of the Récollets; dates it to the second Antwerp period.
Jules Guiffrey. Antoine van Dyck, sa vie et son oeuvre. Paris, 1882, p. 245, no. 57, p. 246, no. 79, lists no. 57 as "La Vierge et L'Enfant Jésus adoré par sainte Catherine tenant une palme, ou Mariage mystique de sainte Catherine," formerly in the collection of W. Agar Ellis [sic]; lists no. 79 as "La Vierge et L'Enfant Jésus adoré par un ange tenant une palme," in the Grosvenor Gallery.
Claude Phillips. "Correspondance d'Angleterre." Gazette des beaux-arts, 2nd ser., 35 (1887), p. 261.
Mario Menotti. "Van Dyck a Genova—Capitolo IV." Archivio storico dell'arte, 2nd ser., 3, no. 5 (1897), p. 394, mistakenly assumes that our picture, formerly in the Agar collection and then in the Grosvenor collection, was two different repetitions of the version now in Chicago.
Jean Durand. L'Exposition Van Dyck à Anvers. Paris, 1899, p. 38, ill. p. 39, as "Mariage mystique de sainte Catherine".
Lionel Cust. Anthony van Dyck, An Historical Study of His Life and Works. London, 1900, pp. 46, 164, 201, 208, 219, 249, no. 48, ill. opp. p. 200, tentatively dates it 1631, and associates it with the picture in the Church of the Récollets.
P[aul]. Buschmann. Exposition de l'oeuvre de Antoine van Dyck. Paris, 1900, p. 29, no. 7, as painted in 1631.
Ernest Law. "The Van Dyck Exhibition at the Royal Academy—I." Magazine of Art 24 (1900), p. 175.
Max Rooses. Fifty Masterpieces of Anthony van Dyck in Photogravure: Selected from the Pictures Exhibited at Antwerp in 1899. London, 1900, pp. 111–12, ill. [French ed. 1902], dates it to the second Antwerp period.
Lionel Cust. Anthony van Dyck. part 2, London, 1903, p. 23 [see Ref. Liedtke 1984], suggests that it was possibly painted in Genoa.
Kenyon Cox inNoteworthy Paintings in American Private Collections. Ed. John La Farge and August F. Jaccaci. New York, 1907, vol. 2, pp. 475–76.
Jules Guiffrey inNoteworthy Paintings in American Private Collections. Ed. John La Farge and August F. Jaccaci. New York, 1907, vol. 2, pp. 482–83.
Mario Menotti inNoteworthy Paintings in American Private Collections. Ed. John La Farge and August F. Jaccaci. New York, 1907, vol. 2, p. 488, as a replica of the Sprague picture.
Gustav Glück inNoteworthy Paintings in American Private Collections. Ed. John La Farge and August F. Jaccaci. New York, 1907, vol. 2, pp. 489–90.
Emil Schaeffer. Van Dyck, des Meisters Gemälde. 1st ed. Stuttgart, 1909, pp. 498–99, ill. p. 81 [2nd ed. by Gustav Glück, 1931, pp. XXXIX, 543, ill. p. 229], as sent to England by Gerbier in 1631; calls it a free repetition of the Chicago picture.
Lionel Cust. Anthony van Dyck, A Further Study. London, 1911, p. 48, no. 7, ill.
"Gift of Mrs. A. A. Sprague." Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 9 (March 1, 1915), p. 34, as a version of the Chicago painting.
Wilhelm R. Valentiner. A Loan Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by Van Dyck. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1929, unpaginated, no. 19, ill., as brought to London in 1631 by Balthasar Gerbier; dates it 1627.
Walter Heil. "Die Van Dyck-Ausstellung in Detroit." Pantheon 4 (July–December 1929), p. 304, dates it to the Italian period.
Wilhelm R. Valentiner. "Die Van Dyck-Ausstellung in Detroit." Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst 63 (1929–30), p. 108, ill. p. 107 (detail).
Gustav Glück. Van Dyck, des Meisters Gemälde. 2nd ed. [1st ed. 1909]. Stuttgart, 1931, pp. XXXIX, 543, ill. p. 229 [1st ed. by Emil Schaeffer, 1909, pp. 498–99, ill. p. 81], as unquestionably autograph; calls the Chicago and Dortmund versions workshop repetitions.
Maurice Delacre. Le Dessin dans l'oeuvre de Van Dyck. [Brussels], [1934], p. 179.
Frank van den Wijngaert. Antoon van Dyck. Antwerp, 1943, p. 88.
Paul Wescher. "Unbekannte Varianten bei Van Dyck." Pantheon 31 (1943), p. 95.
Pierre Imbourg, ed. Van Dyck. Monaco, [1949], pp. xxviii, 102, pl. 75.
Ludwig Burchard. Letter to Joseph Camhi. 1950 [see Ref. Liedtke 1984], describes the Chicago and Camhi pictures as contemporary copies of the MMA work.
John Canaday. "Flip of Coin Helps Divide Fortune in Art." New York Times (May 15, 1960), p. 77.
Guy-Philippe de Montebello. "Van Dyck, Painter of the Counter Reformation." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 22 (December 1963), pp. 138–42, figs. 7–9 (overall and details).
John Rupert Martin and Gail Feigenbaum. Van Dyck as Religious Artist. Exh. cat., Art Museum, Princeton University. Princeton, 1979, pp. 30, 85, 144, 147, no. 39, ill. pp. 145–46 (overall and detail).
J. Douglas Stewart. "'Van Dyck as Religious Artist' at the Art Museum, Princeton University." Burlington Magazine 121 (July 1979), p. 467, suggests that it may predate the second Antwerp period.
Erik Larsen. L'opera completa di Van Dyck. Milan, 1980, vol. 2, p. 100, no. 670, ill., describes it as autograph, calling the Chicago picture a workshop replica; dates it about 1630.
Christopher Brown. Van Dyck. Ithaca, N.Y., 1982, pp. 125–26, pl. 119.
Walter A. Liedtke. Flemish Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 79–84; vol. 2, colorpl. VIII (overall), pls. 33–34 (overall and detail), observes that the picture can be placed among similar subjects executed by Van Dyck about 1630.
Walter A. Liedtke. "Anthony van Dyck." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 42 (Winter 1984/85), pp. 30, 32, figs. 28, 30 (color, overall and detail).
Walter A. Liedtke. "Flemish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum—II: Van Dyck, Jordaens, Brouwer, and Others." Tableau 6 (February 15, 1984), pp. 31, 34, fig. 13 (color).
Maria Carmen Lacarra Ducay. "Identificacion de una obra de Antonio van Dyck en Pedrola (Zaragoza)." Boletin del Museo e Instituto "Camón Aznar" 20 (1985), pp. 5–6, 10–11, fig. 2.
Erik Larsen. The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Freren, Germany, 1988, vol. 1, pp. 434, 461 n. 39, fig. 472; vol. 2, pp. 261–62, no. 640.
Susan J. Barnes inAnthony van Dyck. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1990, p. 23.
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. inAnthony van Dyck. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1990, p. 224 n. 4, under no. 55.
Introduction by Walter A. Liedtke inFlemish Paintings in America: A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Flemish Paintings in the Public Collections of North America. Antwerp, 1992, pp. 11, 332, no. 213, ill.
Colnaghi in America: A Survey to Commemorate the First Decade of Colnaghi New York. Ed. Nicholas H. J. Hall. New York, 1992, p. 131.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 287, ill. p. 288.
Carolyn Diskant Muir. "Art and Religion in Seventeenth-century Antwerp: Van Dyck's 'Mystic Marriage of the Blessed Hermann-Joseph'." Simiolus 28, no. 1/2 (2000–2001), p. 68, fig. 12.
Walter Liedtke et al. Vermeer and the Delft School. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2001, p. 363, fig. 278, under no. 65.
Fiona Healy. "Images of the 'Madonna and Child' and 'The Holy Family' in Van Dyck's Oeuvre." Van Dyck 1599–1999: Conjectures and Refutations. Ed. Hans Vlieghe. Turnhout, Belgium, 2001, pp. 101, 111 n. 47, fig. 12.
Maria Grazia Bernardini inAnton van Dyck: Riflessi italiani. Ed. Maria Grazia Bernardini. Exh. cat., Palazzo Reale. Milan, 2004, pp. 167–68, no. 27, ill. pp. 143 (color), 167.
Luciano Arcangeli inAnton van Dyck: Riflessi italiani. Ed. Maria Grazia Bernardini. Exh. cat., Palazzo Reale. Milan, 2004, p. 39.
Walter Liedtke. Vermeer: The Complete Paintings. Antwerp, 2008, p. 61, fig. 2b.
Old Masters. Christie's, New York. October 30, 2018, unpaginated, under no. 49.
The version of this composition in the Martin d'Arcy Gallery of Art, Loyola University of Chicago, is most likely a workshop replica. The foliage is replaced by an architectural background. A copy of the Museum's picture was in the Cremer Collection, Dortmund, in 1914; another was in the Pitti Palace, Florence; and a version in reverse, probably based on an engraving, is in the Palazzo Corsini, Florence. The figure of Saint Catherine in the Museum's picture was transformed into Mary Magdalen studying the Bible, in a painting formerly in Bern. A drawing of Saint Catherine that was in the collection of Victor Roch, London, has been described as a study for the painting, but is probably a copy made after it.
In 1631, Sir Balthasar Gerbier sent to Charles I, through the Earl of Portland, "une forte belle Notre Dame et Ste. Catharine faict de la main de Van Dyck." Neither the Museum's picture, nor the version in Chicago, can be related to it in the absence of further evidence.
The painting has been exhibited as "The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine," but there is nothing in the composition to indicate that ceremony.
Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, Antwerp 1599–1641 London)
early 17th century
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