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Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

Maker

Juan Fernández de Navarrete (El Mudo) (artist)
1526-1579

After
(artist)
1500-1563

Title

Date of Production

1500 - 1599

Medium

blind stylus, black and white chalk with stumping, later traces of blue wash (?), with black chalk framing lines on laid paper, now laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 34.8 cm
Width: 26.1 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.50

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Saint Catherine had a vision of a wedding ceremony in which Christ placed a ring on her finger – according to some accounts, in the presence of several saints. The composition of this highly finished drawing derives from prints by the Venetian artist Lo Schiavone (around 1510-1563), yet the inscription ascribes it to Juan Fernández Navarrete, known as ‘el Mudo’ (the mute), an attribution supported by close similarities to other chalk drawings by his hand.

Provenance

Sir William Stirling Maxwell, London (1818-1878); by descent to his son, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Glasgow (1866-1956); his sale, Sotheby's (London), 15 - 16 February 1921, lot 249; presumably purchased there by E. Parsons & Sons (London); their sale, 1921, probably cat. 38, though does not match any of the lots as described and Witt did not specify which Parsons sale, as he did for his other Spanish purchases from this sale; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt (1875-1952) (£1.9); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

The Spanish Line - From Ribera to Picasso, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 13/10/2011-15/01/2012

A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956

Literature

Mulcahy, Rosemary, 'Review: Spanish drawings in the Courtauld Gallery. Complete catalogue. By Zahira Véliz' in 'The Burlington Magazine', September 2011 - pp. 646-47; CLIV
p. 647

Véliz, Zahira, 'The Courtauld Gallery's "Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine": a link between Navarrete and Schiavone' in 'Master Drawings', 2011 - pp. 33-49.; XLIX, 1
pp. 33-49
Illus. no. 1 on p. 34

Véliz, Zahira, Spanish Drawings in the Courtauld Gallery: complete catalogue, London, 2011
no. 5
Illus. p. 61 ...More

A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956
cat. no. 4 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower left corner, light brown ink, abraded: “46”; lower centre edge, brown ink, abraded: “[...] mano del mudo”. Verso (hidden under Japanese tissue, visible via transmitted light): upper right, brown ink: “fr.[?] Massolino”; left of centre, black chalk?: “1 4 cua[...]”.

Collector's mark: none.

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