Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, c. 1598

Oil on canvas, 173 × 133 cm

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Room II · Rise to Fame (c. 1598–1600)

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Caravaggio, c. 1598 — Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC0

The saint kneels beside the spiked wheel of her martyrdom, holding the palm and the sword, dressed like a noblewoman of the day. It was painted for Cardinal del Monte, and the model is thought to be Fillide Melandroni, who appears in other pictures of these years.