St. Catherine of Alexandria in Renaissance Roman Art

Cynthia Stollhans is Associate Professor of Art History at Saint Louis University, USA.

'Situated within the evolution and tradition of St. Catherine scholarship and offering a tightly-focused examination of the cult in a specific time and place, Stollhans delves deeply into the issue of artistic patronage in Renaissance Rome, examining the ways in which various patrons used and referenced Catherine's cult to forward their own agendas and formulate their public identities ... a fascinating study of the uses and applications of the Catherine cult.' Scott B. Montgomery, University of Denver, USA; author of Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins of Cologne 'St. Catherine of Alexandria is a multi-purpose saint, thrice-crowned as virgin, martyr, and doctor. Most of all, she had the one-two combo of beauty and intelligence. Relatively recent studies have explored her cult in Western Christendom and in northern Europe - England and France - in particular. Cynthia Stollhans complements this literature with a focus on Rome, the city of all saints, and the development of Catherine’s cult in the papal city from the eighth to the sixteenth century.' Studies in Iconography

• Contents: Introduction; From east to west: St Catherine of Alexandria arrives in Rome; The ’Romanization’ of St Catherine and the cardinal from Milan; St Catherine and the papacy; Sacred and gendered unions: Catherine of Alexandria and hermit saints; The problem of two saints named Catherine in the Fetti chapel; In the service of family dynasties: the Theodoli and Cesi; Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.