17th Veronese School Painting On Slate Saint Catherine Of Alexandria

Painting on slate depicting Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 17th century.

Painting on slate became widespread in Italy from the early 16th century, having been rediscovered in Rome around 1530 by the Venetian painter Sebastiano del Piombo. The dark, compact surface of the slate was often left partially exposed, incorporated by artists as a chromatic base to enhance the contrasts of light and the oil glazes.
This painting technique experienced a true golden age in the 17th century. Artists and patrons favored it for its extraordinary durability and for the polished stone’s ability to lend oil colors a unique brilliance and depth.

Works on slate attributed to the 17th-century Veronese school depict almost exclusively devotional subjects, with a particular preference for Madonnas with the Child, patron saints, and scenes from the Passion—often small in size and intended for private devotion or for small noble chapels.
In our painting, the saint is kneeling with her hands clasped and her eyes turned toward heaven, while a chubby cherub places a wreath of flowers on her head, holding the palm of martyrdom in his other hand. The saint is recognizable by her classic iconographic attributes: the crown and sumptuous robes, symbols of her royal lineage, and the broken cogwheel at her feet, the instrument of her martyrdom.

The slate panel is intact and the painting is very well preserved; it was found with an 18th-century gilded wooden frame.

Dimensions
Slate panel: 29 x 18 cm