The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine

The bride in this picture may have a real face. In Saint Catherine of Alexandria the museum recognises the strong features of Sulpizia Petrucci, born in 1489, daughter of Pandolfo Petrucci, who had ruled Siena as its lord, and wife of Sigismondo Chigi, brother of the Roman banker Agostino Chigi and Siena's envoy in Rome. Genga knew that family well. Around 1509 he had painted frescoes in Pandolfo's palace in Siena. In this panel of the 1520s the Virgin seals the mystic marriage of her Son to Catherine by grasping the young woman's wrist, while Saint Catherine of Siena and the preacher Saint Bernardino look on. In the background Elizabeth and Zacharias, with the small John the Baptist, have just come through the door bringing two doves as a gift. The museum calls their presence unusual and reads it as a stress on marriage that may explain why the picture was ordered. The carved frame is by Lorenzo Tori of Siena, and the Chigi inventories record the painting in 1644.