Barbara Longhi

Clemente Salviani (1793-1868), Cesena, by 1853;

Montague collection, Toddsbury, Virginia;

Anonymous sale, Asheville, Brunk, 11 January 2024, lot 631 (as Follower of Luca Longhi);

Where acquired by the present owner.

Recently reattributed to the Ravenna painter Barbara Longhi, this tender work depicts the mystic marriage between the Christ Child and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a spiritual union symbolizing their metaphorical betrothal. The devotional sensitivity of the scene, rendered in Longhi's characteristic rose and ochre tonal palette, marks an important addition to her oeuvre.

We are grateful to Professor Raffaella Zama who has endorsed the attribution of the present work to Barbara Longhi.