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Santa Caterina d'Alessandria Siena
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Artist: Jacopo della Quercia
Year: 1414 - 1419
Current location: Fondazione Conservatori Riuniti di Siena
Original location: Chiesa di San Raimondo
DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION
The sculpture appears to be Saint Catherine of Alexandria, to whom the iconographic attributes of the royal crown on her head, the book, and perhaps, on her right side, the support for the wheel, a symbol of martyrdom, may allude. The figure is still imbued with elements of late Gothic style, from the gilding of her blond hair to the style of her dress.
The sculpture once stood above the gate leading to the church of San Raimondo al Refugio and had a "neoclassical" appearance due to a renovation and reuse project that included the addition of white and gold polychrome, the Tablets of the Law, a plastered cloth veil, and a right arm raised to hold a chalice. This intervention may have been made during the church's restoration following the disastrous earthquake of 1798, which caused the vault to collapse.
Aside from these additions, strong similarities were noted with the typical iconography of the Virgin Annunciate established by Jacopo della Quercia for the examples in the Collegiate Church of San Gimignano and the Santuccio in Siena.
Santa Caterina d'Alessandria