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Glory of St. Catherine of Alexandria

Francesco Conti XVIII sec. d.C./ secondo quarto

The triumphant figure of the saint is depicted surrounded by light, with an outline of clouds and angels in almost phosphorescent colours. A feature of the Florentine painter Francesco Conti, a pupil of Carlo Maratta and Giovanni Maria Morandi, is his rendering of liquid, light-soaked colours.

Technical information

Author: Francesco Conti
Title: Glory of St. Catherine of Alexandria
Date: XVIII sec. d.C./ secondo quarto
Material and technique: Oil on canvas
Size: 280x187 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
Second Floor

In ancient inventories, the work is cited as St. Irene or St. Agnes, but the presence of the broken wheel in the bottom right-hand corner clearly and unequivocally identifies the identity of the saint, as this is the very instrument of martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
In the lower part of the painting, a recent restoration has highlighted a small section with a panorama of the city of Prato; the outline of the walls seen in the light of sunset and the city's most prominent monuments are visible.
The altarpiece adorned the splendid Renaissance sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Carceri in Prato. After the ecclesiastical suppressions of 1788 it became part of the Municipality's collections.