Giuseppe VERMIGLIO (1585 - 1635) The Mystical... Lot 8

Giuseppe VERMIGLIO (1585 - 1635) The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine between St. Agatha and St. John the Baptist Canvas. Ancient restorations. 170 x 196 cm Our large canvas takes up the organization of the "sacra conversazione" (sacred conversations), that is to say the gathering of holy characters around the Virgin and Child. As recommended by the Counter-Reformation, the iconography is easy to decipher and each saint is identifiable by his traditional iconographic symbol. To the right, John the Baptist bows and holds a cross with a phylactery bearing the inscription Ecce (Agnus) Dei. In fact, he was the first to recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God, the paschal lamb that will be sacrificed to free from sin, hence the presence of this animal at his feet. At the centre, the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a very popular topic among communities of nuns since the 15th century. Our painting could have been commissioned for a convent of women. Of noble origin, Catherine is crowned and dressed in a rich brocade; she is kneeling, receiving the ring on her finger. A fragment of the wheel, the instrument of her torment, is placed at her feet. Mary, dressed in a pink robe and a blue mantle, is sitting on a mound, carrying Christ the Child on her knees. On the left, leaning against a balustrade and in front of a column, Saint Agatha of Catania holds a palm and a cup with her breasts, testimony to her martyrdom. Of Piedmontese origin, Vermiglio is mentioned in Rome as early as 1604 in the studio of a Perugian painter, Adriano Monteleone, and resided in that city until 1619. He immersed himself in Caravaggio's lesson, both in his painting and in his bad-boy lifestyle: in 1605 he was arrested for carrying an illegal weapon, in 1606 he took part in a brawl, in 1611 he was arrested again for fighting. The altarpiece of the Incredulity of Saint Thomas of 1612 (Rome, Saint Thomas dei Cenci) and more recently, the altarpiece of the Incredulity of Saint Thomas of 1612 (Rome, Saint Thomas dei Cenci).