Huwelijk van de heilige Catharina van Alexandrië 1590 - 1632

Editor: This engraving, “The Wedding of Saint Catherine of Alexandria," by Pieter de Jode I, dating somewhere between 1590 and 1632. There's such a sense of formality in this old engraving style. All those figures so precisely rendered! What strikes you about this piece? Curator: You know, it's interesting you picked up on that formality. To me, it’s more like controlled passion. I mean, look at the way the light and shadow play across the fabrics, each fold practically alive. I wonder, do you see how the figures are arranged, almost like a theatrical stage? Editor: Now that you mention it, yes! Everyone is facing us. Saint Catherine's looking right at us while baby Jesus puts a ring on her finger. The figures look a little bit cramped, and like you said, staged, almost frozen. Curator: Absolutely! I get this feeling, a whispered intensity, like we're witnessing something incredibly private, even sacred, and at the same time staged. De Jode is whispering in our ear, “look closer!” The little details… notice how the older onlookers add to the scene's sense of gravity. Does their presence ground the mystical aspect of the marriage to Saint Catherine, or are we meant to believe she is in communion with all humankind through her devout nature? Editor: I think that's it. There is an intense focus, as if the only people in the room are Saint Catherine and baby Jesus, with everyone else reflecting on their bond. It reminds me how personal yet also symbolic faith can be. Curator: Precisely! Engravings like these were designed to be widely distributed, and deeply contemplate the symbolic richness they held. It makes you wonder what folks in the 17th century might have made of this intense, theatrical intimacy.