Pietro de Lignis

This copper is an autograph replica of the prime version of the subject by the rare artist, Pietro de Lignis, today in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe.¹ That work is elaborately signed on the projecting architrave of the building on the left: Pietro du Bois. ALIAS. DI / LIGNIS.IN ROMA. Differences between the paintings include the appointment of the metal spikes on the wheels; the attitude of the angel holding the firebrand, which in the Karlsruhe painting takes the form of a sword, which he wields with both hands; the saint's dress, which is simplified in the present painting; and the inclusion in the background, here, of the next episode in the legend - Catherine's beheading.

Another depiction of The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine, of a similar design but with differences in the figure of the martyr Saint, the angel, upper right, and in the general spaciousness of the composition, signed: Pietro / liGnis, was sold in these Rooms, 25 May 1988, lot 126. Only two further signed works by the artist are known: a pair depicting The Virgin swaddling the Infant Jesus and The Nativity, sold at Christie's, New York, 19 April 2007, lot 247, the former signed: Pietro du Boi;² and the Adoration of the Magi, in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, signed and dated: Pietro de Lignis fiamengo in Roma 1616.³

The range of signatures and forms reflect the various Latin interpretations of the painter's name, which derive from the Flemish, Pieter van den Houte. Pietro de Lignis, as he is most commonly known, was a native of Flanders, but is recorded in Rome from 1599 and noted as a member of the Accademia di San Luca there by 1607. He remained in the city - one of the growing number of Northern artists there, such as Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610), with whom he likely had contact - until his death 20 years later.

¹ https://www.kunsthalle-karlsruhe.de/kunstwerke/Pieter-van-den-Houte/Das-Martyrium-der-Heiligen-Katharina/6362C36B4FA7B9239B67A59AAD0A5147/

² https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4892764

³ https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/adoracion-de-los-reyes-magos/ac6597f7-a9b9-4b02-9a3b-f5ee35856cec