17th century Saint Catherine of Alexandria Oil on copper, 11 x 8 cm With frame, 21 x 18 cm The Saint depicted on this small copper is Catherine of Alexandria, a martyr venerated by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Living between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, information about her life is contained in sources dating back several centuries, including the Golden Legend of the Dominican friar Jacopo da Varagine. According to these sources, she lived in Alexandria, Egypt, where she grew up as an orphan, surrounded by the attentions of many suitors due to her great beauty; however, one night she dreamt of the Madonna and Child placing a ring on her finger, consecrating her as sponsa Christi and awakening in her the vocation for a life entirely devoted only to Christ and no other man. As for Catherine's martyrdom, it was due to her refusal to honor the pagan rites held during a festival in honor of the Roman emperor in 305 at the palace. Catherine refused the sacrifices and asked the emperor to recognize Jesus Christ as the redeemer of humanity, arguing her invitation with philosophical depth. The emperor tried to convince her to worship the gods without success and so condemned her to death with the torment of the toothed wheel. During the martyrdom, lightning struck from the sky and split the toothed wheel in half, forcing the emperor to behead her; from her severed neck flowed not blood but milk, a symbol of her purity. The episodes of her life are found in the attributes with which the saint is usually represented: the crown, a symbol of royalty and the mystical marriage with Christ, the broken toothed wheel and the sword, symbols of martyrdom together with the common palm of martyrs. In this copper we also find these objects, associated with a serene figure in a relaxed pose as she gazes ecstatically at the clear sky from which descend faint rays of divine light.