332 – Il Martirio di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria

When he lived in Naples, Preti painted ten canvases for the ceiling of the prominent  Gothic church of San Pietro a Maiella. Five of the canvases depict scenes from the  life of the saint to whom the church was dedicate d, Pietro da Morrone, who both  became Pope Celestine V and abdicated from the papacy in 1294. The other paintings portray Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the early martyr who is venerated as the  patron saint of philosophers and scholars.
The lives of the two saints are represented by two series of canvases in tondo, oblong,  and octagonal shapes. The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, painted  around 1657-59, is the only known bozzetto, or sketch, for the painting that occupies the octagonal crossing above the high altar in the church.
St. Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint of the ltalian Knights of Malta, was a thirdcentury martyr renowned for her learning. Imprisoned by the pagan Emperor Maxentius, the virgin princess was visited by the Empress Faustina in the company of Porphyrus, a captain of soldiers. When Catherine preached the Christian faith to thern, both visitors were converted, along with two hundred soldiers. The infuriated Emperor condemned Catherine to death by means of a series of four wheels lined with spikes, but the wheel miraculously exploded in flames. Altering his plans, the emperor ordered her beheading.
The sketch depicts the climactic moment just before the executioner’s sword swings  through the air and an angel hands Saint Catherine the palm of martyrdom.

A Brush with Passion MATTIA PRETI (1613-1699) – Firenze, 2013
by John T. Spike