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Virgin and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Carolino da Viterbo (Italian)
c. 1450
- Medium
- tempera and gold on wood panel
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Framed: 68.5 x 47.5 x 5 cm (26 15/16 x 18 11/16 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 59.7 x 39 cm (23 1/2 x 15 3/8 in.)
- Culture
- Italy, Siena(?)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Medieval Art
- Credit line
- The Fanny Tewksbury King Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
In his right hand, the Christ child grasps a stem of roses. The beauty and fragrance of roses symbolize heaven, while their thorny stems allude to the crown of thorns and Christ's suffering. The bird he holds in his left hand symbolizes the human soul. The elaborate haloes with Latin inscriptions identify the figures and help organize the composition. The names of Christ, Saint Jerome, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria appear in abbreviated form. The Madonna's halo proclaims her worthiness to bear the Son of God: "Hail, full of grace," while the inscription at the top is one of her most popular titles: "Merciful Mother."
