Attributed to Giovanni Bilivert Florence 1585 - 1644

The painting reflects an invention by Giovanni Bilivert, known through two copies: one, also oval, formerly in the collection of Prof. Bartolomeo Nogara, Rome, and the second, of rectangular format, in Moravská Galerie, Brno (see R. Contini, Bilivert, Florence 1985, pp. 146-7, no. 104, reproduced figs. 104a and 104b respectively). Bilivert's original - considered lost by Contini - was painted for Lorenzo Antinori and was described by Fidani as showing Maria, one of Antinori's daughters, in the guise of St. Catherine embracing the wheel, the symbol of her martyrdom.