The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine (Guercino)

The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine is a 1653 oil on canvas painting by Guercino, commissioned by Cento to present to cardinal Alderano Cibo, papal legate in Ferrara.

The first drawing corresponds compositionally with some changes to the Hermitage painting; on the back of the sheet there is a separate figure of the executioner.

It was bought at the posthumous sale of the collection of William II of the Netherlands by Nicholas I of Russia in 1850 and since then has been in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

To the left behind the executioner is one of the four spiked wheels, which were originally supposed to crush the body of the martyr - this device was destroyed by an angel.

The angel himself is depicted as a putto, holding a crown in his left hand and a palm branch in his right - according to the Golden Legend, these items are attributes of Catherine.