St Catherine among the Philosophers
Artist/Maker
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 65 x 51 cm
Inventory numberNM 176
AcqusitionTransferred 1866 from Kongl. Museum (Martelli 1804)
Other titlesTitle (sv): Sta Katarina bland filosoferna Title (en): St Catherine among the Philosophers
DescriptionCatalogue raisonné: Description in Italian Paintings: Three Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2015, cat.no. 85: FORMER INV. NOS.: 237 (M. 1796–97); 268 (F. 1798); 344 (M. 1804); KM 829. TECHNICAL NOTES: The support consists of a single piece of medium-coarse, densely woven, plain-weave linen fabric. It has been lined with glue and mounted on a strainer. This was probably done in Italy before shipping to Sweden. An old tear in the canvas has been mended from the back with a patch. The ground is red and covers the entire support. The paint layer is slightly cracked but otherwise in good condition, with only minor retouches. Some of the outlines of the figures may have been reinforced. Documented restoration: 1988: Cleaning. Regeneration of bloomed varnish. PROVENANCE: Martelli 1804. BIBLIOGRAPHY: NM Cat. 1867, p. 12 (as Scarsella); Sander 1872– 76, III, p. 125, no. 344 (as Scarsella); Göthe 1893, p. 295; Novelli 1964, p. 42, fig. 20a; NM Cat. 1990, p. 326 (as Scarsella); Novelli 2008, p. 314, cat. no. 156. In Fredenheim’s catalogue, this painting is described as a St Catherine avec des Philosophes and attributed to Paul Cagliari, dit Veronese.¹ However, it was later correctly reattributed by Corvi and Tofanelli to Scarsellino: on the original Martelli paper label on the verso they knowledgeably describe it as Scarsellin da Ferrara ad imitazione di Paolo V. S.Catarina che disputa con filosofi.² It is important to note that Corvi and Tofanelli reattributed the painting, but did not altogether refute the earlier supposition; if not by Veronese himself, it was executed by an artist with a distinct style of his own in an imitation – a description which in their usage should most certainly be taken to mean a knowledgeable estimation – of the older master’s work. Clearly Corvi and Tofanelli were familiar with Scarsellino’s supposed association with Veronese, not only as a follower of the master but also, perhaps, as a student and assistant. A personal and high-quality work, yet executed in Veronese’s manner, such as the present painting, could perhaps only have been produced by an artist closely familiar with Veronese’s work and creative process. Scarsellino combines two episodes from the legend of the martyr: the dispute of St Catherine and the philosophers, shown in the centre foreground, and the interrogation by the Emperor Maxentius, the crowned figure in the background to the left. As Maria Angela Novelli has pointed out, the dramatic positioning and interplay of the saint and the two philosophers, with their backs turned to the spectator, lend the composition a strong mannerist quality.³ These traits are combined with an equally strong chromatic sensibility, displaying Scarsellino’s typical colour scheme of saturated rose-tinted red, warm yellow and blue. Given these characteristics, the painting should be dated to the 1590s, when Scarsellino had returned to Ferrara and was combining the lessons learnt in Venice with a renewal of his original influences from the Ferrarese school.⁴ In Martelli’s original catalogue, the present painting and NM 231 (cat. no. 86) were listed with consecutive numbers, though they were attributed to Titian and Veronese respectively.⁵ That the two works belonged together in some way was obviously clear to Martelli. Since both have now been firmly attributed to Scarsellino, and the works are quite similar in nature, there was in all probability a deeper knowledge as to the correlation before they became part of the Martelli Collection, beyond the fact that they were of a northern Italian school, supposedly that of Venice, and of similar size. Whether the present painting should be considered a “study” by Scarsellino after an earlier master, such as NM 231, or a work of the artist’s own invention has yet to be fully established. DP 1 NM Archives, Kongl. Museum, F:1, Catalogue du Cabinet de Martelli (à Rome). 2 Novelli 2008, p. 388. 3 Ibid., pp. 180, 314, cat. no. 156. 4 Ibid., p. 388. 5 NM Archives, Kongl. Museum, [End]
Motif categoryReligion/Mythology
Collection
TechniquePainting
Object category
Keyword
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