The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

c. 1618

Sir Anthony van Dyck

Associated Names
Sir Anthony van Dyck

Artist, Flemish, 1599 - 1641

The image shows a group of figures gathered closely around a woman holding a baby. The woman is seated on the left, looking down at the baby in her lap. Beside them, a man leans forward, touching their hands. Other men surround them, observing the scene. The background is simple, emphasizing the figures.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with brown and gray washes over black chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 18.2 x 28.1 cm (7 3/16 x 11 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1993.51.7

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Nicolaes Anthoni Flinck [1646-1723] (Lugt 959), Rotterdam; William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire [1672-1729]; by descent at Devonshire House and Chatsworth (inv.no.989) (sale, London, Christie's, 6 July 1987, lot 12); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York, 1987; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990; gift to NGA, 1993.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1938

  • Exhibition of 17th Century Art in Europe, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1938, no. 582.

1948

  • Tekeningen van Jan van Eyck tot Rubens, Boymans Museums, Rotterdam, 1948-1949, no. 81.

1949

  • De van Eyck à Rubens: Les Maîtres Flamandes du Dessin, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1949, no. 120, pl. XXVII.

1955

  • 100 Opere di van Dyck, Palazzo dell'Accademia, Genoa, 1955, no. 105.

1957

  • Paintings and Drawings from Chatsworth, The Art Galleries, University of Nottingham, 1957, no. 33.

1960

  • Antoon van Dyck, Tekeningen en olieverfschetsen, Rubenhuis, Antwerp, and Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1960, no. 29.

  • Paintings and Drawings by Van Dyck, Nottingham University Art Gallery, Nottingham, 1960, no. 44.

1969

  • Old Master Drawings from Chatsworth: A Loan Exhibition from the Devonshire Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and tour, 1969-70, no. 81.

1973

  • Old Master Drawings from Chatsworth: A Loan Exhibition from the Devonshire Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1973-1974, no. 81.

1975

  • Old Master Drawings from Chatsworth: A Loan Exhibition from the Devonshire Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1975, no. 76.

1979

  • Treasures from Chatsworth, The Devonshire Inheritance, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond and tour, 1979-1980, no. 82.

  • Van Dyck as Religious Artist, The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1979, no. 20.

1987

  • Master Drawings: The Woodner Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1987, (hors de catalogue).

1990

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, no. 88.

  • The Drawings of Anthony van Dyck, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York and The Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1991, no. 18.

1993

  • Nine Old Master Drawings: Recent Gifts from the Woodner Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993 (checklist only).

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996, no. 65.

2000

  • Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000-2001.

2006

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006 - 2007.

2012

  • The Young Van Dyck, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2012-2013.

2017

  • The Woodner Collections: Master Drawings from Seven Centuries, NGA, 2017.

Bibliography

1905

  • Vasari Society for Reproduction of Old Masters. 1st series, III, 1907/08, no. 16.

1908

  • Pauli, Gustav. "Zeichnungen Van Dycks in der Bremer Kunsthalle." Zeichschrift für bildende Kunst. XIX (1908): 84.

1909

  • Haberditzl, F.M. in Kunstgeschichtliche Anzeigen, 1909: 66.

1930

  • Oppé, A.P. "Anthony van Dyck." Old Master Drawings. 6 (1930-31), 72.

1931

  • Glück, Gustav. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 13. Revised 2nd ed. New York and Stuttgart, 1931: 525, mentioned under S.60.

1934

  • Delacre, Maurice. "Le Dessin dans l'Oeuvre de van Dyck." Mémoires de l'Académie Royale de Belgique 2nd series, 3 (1934), 125-26, fig. 66.

1949

  • Lugt, Frits. Inventaire Général des Dessins des Écoles du Nord. Paris, 1949: 1: 56, mentioned under no. 605.

1955

  • Vey, Horst. "Van-Dyck-Studien." Dissertation. Cologne, 1955: 83-84, 89-91.

1962

  • Vey, Horst. Die Zeichnungen Anton van Dycks. Brussels, 1962: I: 123-24, nos. 52-57, 59.

1973

  • Müller-Hofstede, Justus. "New Drawings by Van Dyck." Master Drawings 11 (Summer 1973): mentioned under no. 3.

1976

  • Tarnove, Elizabeth. The Drawings of Van Dyck (Master Draughtsman Series), Alhambra, CA, 1976: reproduced, unpaginated.

1980

  • McNairn, Alan. The Young van Dyck. Le Jeune van Dyck. Exh. cat. The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1980: 72, mentioned under no. 216.

1987

  • Melikian, Souren. "A Master Collector, Ian Woodner: An Eye for the Future." Art & Auction. (November 1987): 80, repro. p. 82.

1988

  • Larsen, Erik. The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Freren, 1988: mentioned under no 216.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996: no. 65.

Inscriptions

by a 17th-century hand, lower center in brown ink: NL; by later hand (possibly Van Dyck), repeated three times, lower left verso in pen and brown ink: Come; by later hand, upper right verso in pen and brown ink: Dieu donne; by later hand, center right verso in pen and brown ink: pour la somme de deux ce [ent?] soixante douze mille / pistolles pour laquelle somme

Wikidata ID

Q64631755

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