Die mystische Vermählung der heiligen Katharina

Around 1520 Correggio was in Parma beginning the work he is famous for: dizzying painted domes where figures seem to float up through the ceiling into open sky. This little panel is the opposite scale, made for private prayer. The Christ Child, held by his mother, slips a ring onto the finger of Saint Catherine as if it were a quiet family betrothal. The instruments of her death are tucked into the lower corner, the spiked wheel and the sword. Correggio softens the light on every face so the whole scene feels hushed and close. A 1596 inventory of a noblewoman's goods calls it small but rejoicing in extreme beauty, and records an attempt to send it as a gift to the Duke of Mantua that never came off.