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Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara (pair)

Master of the Holy Blood

1520

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Northern Renaissance Renaissance Renaissance Religious Brug

Dominant colour

Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara (pair) is a 1520 unspecified by Master of the Holy Blood, a Northern Renaissance work, depicting Brug, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Master of the Holy Blood
When & what style?: 1520 · Northern Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see two women, Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara, in these paintings. They are holding symbols of their stories. Saint Catherine has a sword, and Saint Barbara has a book and a ring. The stories of these saints are interesting because they were both strong women. They were martyred for their beliefs, but their legends live on. You can learn more about similar artworks at The Cleveland Museum of Art.

The story of this work

Overview

Saint Catherine holds the sword with which she was martyred, and Saint Barbara holds both a book and a ring symbolizing her scholarly pursuits and union with God. According to legend, the leather thongs with which she was beaten were transformed into peacock plumes. These two paintings were originally the wings of an altarpiece flanking a central panel, now lost, that may have depicted the Holy Family. The identity of this artist is unknown, but he is named for a painting in the Chapel of the Holy Blood in Bruges. Bruges flourished as an international commercial center through the 1400s and…

Read the full account in the museum source.