Unknown. <em>Saint Catherine of Siena</em>, 17th century. Painting: Oil on copper
Frame: Silver on wood core, 17 3/4 x 15in. (45.1 x 38.1cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, Frank Sherman Benson Fund, Carll H. de Silver Fund, A. Augustus Healy Fund, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, Charles Stewart Smith Memorial Fund, and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 48.206.84 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.206.84_SL3.jpg)

Unknown. Saint Catherine of Siena, 17th century. Painting: Oil on copper Frame: Silver on wood core, 17 3/4 x 15in. (45.1 x 38.1cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, Frank Sherman Benson Fund, Carll H. de Silver Fund, A. Augustus Healy Fund, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, Charles Stewart Smith Memorial Fund, and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 48.206.84 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.206.84_SL3.jpg)

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What do the branch of lilies represent?

That is such a beautiful painting of St. Catherine

Lilies traditionally represent purity in Christian art of the Western world. In this work, lilies were a particular "attribute" of St. Catherine, something she was often depicted with.

She had a vision that St. Dominic (the founder of the Dominican order of nuns, which she belonged to) appeared to her, holding a lily that was on fire but never burned.

Saint Catherine of Siena

Unknown

American Art

PAINTINGS AND THEIR FRAMES
Lists of paintings in dowries and estate inventories often include descriptions, however brief, of their frames. In the colonial period, frames were often higher in value than their painted images, especially when made of silver or embellished with gold leaf. Paintings were even cut down to fit expensive frames or discarded altogether and replaced with mirrors.

The nearby large painting on copper of Saint Catherine of Siena was evidently so esteemed by its owner that a richly embossed silver frame was commissioned for it. The valuable silver frames for the two small, unrefined interpretations of the Annunciation and the Meeting of Joachim and Anna—adorned with embossed flowers, twisted Solomonic columns, putti (winged infants), scalloped shells, and mythological creatures—were probably worth more than the paintings.

LAS PINTURAS Y SUS MARCOS
Las listas de pinturas en dotes e inventarios de propiedad a menudo incluyen descripciones, aunque breves, de sus marcos. En el periodo colonial, los marcos solían ser más costosos que las imágenes pintadas que contenían, especialmente cuando estaban hechos de plata o adornados con hoja de oro. Las pinturas incluso se cortaban para hacerlas encajar dentro de marcos costosos o se desechaban del todo y se sustituían por espejos.

La gran pintura sobre cobre cercana que muestra a Santa Catalina de Siena evidentemente era tan estimada por su propietario que comisionó un lujoso marco de plata repujada para contenerla. Los valiosos marcos de plata de las dos pequeñas, y algo ingenuas, interpretaciones de La Anunciación y El Encuentro de Joaquín y Ana—adornadas con flores en relieve, columnas Salomónicas en espiral, putti (querubines o amorcillos), conchas onduladas y criaturas mitológicas—probablemente valían más que las pinturas mismas.

ARTIST Unknown

MEDIUM Painting: Oil on copper Frame: Silver on wood core

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Possible place made: Italy
Possible place made: Peru

DATES 17th century

DIMENSIONS 17 3/4 x 15in. (45.1 x 38.1cm) frame: 29 1/4 x 27 x 2 in. (74.3 x 68.6 x 5.1 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 48.206.84

CREDIT LINE Frank L. Babbott Fund, Frank Sherman Benson Fund, Carll H. de Silver Fund, A. Augustus Healy Fund, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, Charles Stewart Smith Memorial Fund, and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Unknown. Saint Catherine of Siena, 17th century. Painting: Oil on copper Frame: Silver on wood core, 17 3/4 x 15in. (45.1 x 38.1cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, Frank Sherman Benson Fund, Carll H. de Silver Fund, A. Augustus Healy Fund, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, Charles Stewart Smith Memorial Fund, and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 48.206.84 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.206.84_SL3.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 48.206.84_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What do the branch of lilies represent?

That is such a beautiful painting of St. Catherine

Lilies traditionally represent purity in Christian art of the Western world. In this work, lilies were a particular "attribute" of St. Catherine, something she was often depicted with.

She had a vision that St. Dominic (the founder of the Dominican order of nuns, which she belonged to) appeared to her, holding a lily that was on fire but never burned.

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Saint Catherine of Siena

Unknown

American Art

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Unknown

American Art

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