Two Brides for One Groom: The Riddle of the Picturesque Plot of the Mystical Betrothal of Saint Catherine

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Among the works of the masters of the Renaissance and later periods of the history of painting, there are often those that depict the "mystical betrothal of St. Catherine." At the same time, the essence of what is happening may seem vague - after all, engagement in the understanding that is familiar to a modern person does not occur on canvas. It turns out that brides in such pictures could be two different women, but the groom is always one.

The First Bride - Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Saint Catherine of Alexandria lived in Egypt in the 3rd century AD. Before the adoption of Christianity, she bore the name Dorothea and was the daughter of the ruler of Alexandria. The girl was famous for her extraordinary beauty, wisdom, spiritual qualities, and was, of course, an enviable bride, but she wanted only the most worthy bridegroom for herself - the one who would surpass her in everything. Then Catherine's mother took her to an old hermit who was saying prayers in a cave not far from the city. He told the girl that he knew the one who was better in everything.

The image of Christ made a strong impression on the girl, and soon a vision came to her: she found herself in front of the Virgin Mary with the baby, but he refused to look at Catherine, for she was ugly, impoverished and insane, since she was not marked by the Holy Spirit. Then the girl asked the elder to perform the rite of baptism over her and began to pray. A new vision revealed to her the Virgin and Child, who called Catherine a bride and put a ring on her finger.

After a while, the emperor Maximinus arrived in Alexandria. Catherine went to the ruler's palace to persuade him to abandon the worship of pagan gods and accept the Christian faith. Maximinus called the best scientists to, in turn, force the girl to renounce Christianity. But after a conversation with the girl, the sages began to convert to her faith, for which the angry emperor ordered everyone to be burned at the stake. The girl was ordered to be thrown into prison, the emperor invented torture with the wheel for her, and everyone who followed the girl to a new religion, he prepared the death penalty, including his wife. According to legend, the wheel was destroyed by an angel who came down to earth. At the behest of the emperor, Catherine was beheaded with a sword, thus accepting a martyr's death at the age of eighteen.

Catherine of Alexandria was canonized - this happened before the division of the churches, and therefore the saint is revered by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The Order of the Russian Empire, which was established under Peter I, was named after her. The first lady to be awarded the order was the wife of Peter I, Catherine, and later it was awarded to the Grand Duchesses and Princesses, it was a symbol of belonging to the highest circles of society.

The second bride - Saint Catherine of Siena

But Christian history also knew another Catherine, a saint of the Catholic Church, and she, too, was the bride of Christ, depicted in paintings and icons. She was born in the Italian city of Siena in the middle of the 14th century. Catherine received her name in honor of that very saint from Alexandria, and in her life she was guided by her. At the age of seven, she took the so-called vow of virginity. At first, the girl's family was opposed to her committing herself to Christ, they tried to marry her and loaded her with housework to break her will. But one day, when they saw a dove descending on her head from heaven during prayer, they considered it a sign from above and ceased to oppose Catherine's choice. The girl embarked on the path of monastic service.

From childhood, she had visions. During one of them, Saint Dominic appeared to Catherine, who handed the girl a white lily - it burned, but did not burn, like an unburned bush from a biblical story. And in 1367, when a carnival was being held in Siena, Catherine indulged in prayers, and following the example of the saint from Alexandria, she asked Christ to "marry her in faith." Then he and the Holy Virgin came to her home, and, as in the case of Catherine of Alexandria, the betrothal ceremony took place. The bride also wore a ring on her finger, which she wore for the rest of her life, and for everyone except Catherine herself, it was invisible.

The house on Fontebrand Street - the one where the ceremony took place, has since been revered by believers, during the carnival, passing by, the participants take off their masks. The inscription on the building reads: "This is the house of Catherine, the bride of Christ."

Saint Catherine belonged to the Dominican order, practiced asceticism, devoting herself to works of mercy. A community began to form around her, the number of followers grew, Catherine became the first woman to preach in the church. Catherine contributed to the fact that the papal residence was returned from Avignon to Rome. The correspondence and literary legacy of the bride of Christ had a great influence on the religious politics of the time. Moreover, continuing the tradition of mystical visions, she allegedly wrote a number of her works in a state of trance, ecstasy, writing down God's words against her own will.

Catherine of Siena led an extremely ascetic life, she did not eat meat and generally ate very poorly, wore only one clothes all year, giving everything to the poor and disadvantaged. She died, apparently, from exhaustion of physical and mental strength. It happened when she was thirty-three years old - the same time Christ lived on earth.

Bride of Christ in painting

The interesting thing about the stories of the two Catherines is that both of them are recognized as real, historical figures. And if in iconography the master's goal was to capture the images of saints to glorify their righteous life and deeds in the name of the church, then the artists drew inspiration from the very plot of betrothal to Christ. Most often, the Savior was portrayed as a baby in the arms of the Mother of God - probably in order to emphasize the spiritual non-gender nature of the betrothal.

Both Catherine of Alexandria and Catherine of Siena could appear on the canvases of the artists - it is possible to determine which of them appears as a participant in the mystical betrothal by separate attributes. In general, the Great Martyr Catherine was portrayed more often, a much smaller number of paintings are dedicated to the saint of Siena. But the artist Ambrogio Borgognone went a little further than all his brothers and wrote the betrothal of Catherine to these two saints at once.

Catherine of Alexandria is usually depicted in a crown, sometimes in an ermine mantle - these are signs of her royal origin. Often a wheel, a sword appear in the picture, the saint herself is dressed in red clothes - this color symbolizes martyrdom.

Catherine of Siena is depicted in a monastic cassock, with a lily. The number of figures that make up the composition of the work varied - from a minimum of three participants in the sacrament to several dozen - among which were other saints, and angels, and donors who paid for the artist's work.

The mystical betrothal of St. Catherine is a very popular subject among Renaissance artists. The paintings emerging from the workshops reflected not only the history itself, but also the features of the era in which they were created. Corresponding to the canons within which the masters worked, these works, nevertheless, make the later generations of connoisseurs of painting think. For example, the tradition of depicting Catherine with a rounded belly, with obvious signs of pregnancy, at first plunges into bewilderment - after all, both Catherines vowed celibacy and could not have any signs of imminent motherhood.

But the explanation should be sought in the traditions of the Renaissance, when the birth of children was proclaimed the main purpose of a woman, and this gave rise to a kind of standard of beauty for artists who sometimes exaggeratedly praised this ability as an integral part of a woman's image.

Often when looking at one of these “betrothal”, you can see signs of the time and place where the picture was created, for example, the event taking place on the canvas of Paolo Veronese resembles a merry Venetian ball rather than a quiet secret ceremony.

The betrothal of Saint Catherine is a beautiful, even romantic plot. Much more controversial were those which was used in his works by the great Rubens.