Who painted Saint Catharine with the wheel?

Saint Catharine with the wheel was painted by Unknown in 1506.

Where can I see Saint Catharine with the wheel?

Saint Catharine with the wheel is held by Kunsthistorisches Museum.

What movement is Saint Catharine with the wheel?

Saint Catharine with the wheel is associated with Northern Renaissance.

Artwork

Saint Catharine with the wheel

Unknown , 1506

Saint Catharine with the wheel is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Unknown. It dates from 1506 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr venerated as a saint.

The painting depicts Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr venerated as a saint. Her traditional attribute, the spiked wheel on which she was condemned to be tortured, gives the work its title and serves as the principal iconographic signifier of her identity and martyrdom. As a religious work, the image belongs to the devotional tradition of representing holy figures with their identifying emblems, allowing viewers to recognize the saint and meditate on her witness.

Technique & Style

The painting employs oil on a pine panel support, measuring 77 × 64 cm. Its handling aligns with Northern Renaissance conventions, with fine glazing and subtle modeling to render the saint’s drapery and delicate features. The composition centers on Catharine, who holds the spiked wheel, her attribute, while gazing upward in quiet devotion.

Formal qualities emphasize linear grace and restrained spatial recession, typical of the Meister der Nürnberger Katharinenbilder circle active around Nuremberg at the turn of the sixteenth century. The palette remains subdued, relying on earth tones and modest highlights to convey volume.

History & Provenance

The painting Saint Catharine with the wheel is dated to 1506 and attributed to the anonymous Meister der Nürnberger Katharinenbilder, a group associated with Nuremberg’s Katharinen cycle. Measuring 77 cm by 64 cm and painted in oil on a pine panel, the work entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it remains held. The artist’s identity is not specified in the records, but the attribution reflects stylistic connections to Nuremberg’s late medieval religious painting tradition.

The painting is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, where it is inventoried as 77 cm high and 64 cm wide on a pine panel.

It has been exhibited as part of the museum’s holdings of German early Renaissance works, most recently in 2019 as part of the display ‘Meisterwerke der Gemäldegalerie’ at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Overview

The painting 'Saint Catharine with the wheel' is an oil painting depicting a serene female figure amidst a chaotic scene.