A Seated Female Saint

The delicate modelling with light and shade matches the exquisite appearance of this virgin saint. Although she lacks an identifying attribute, she was almost certainly conceived as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, shown touching the finger on which the Christ Child placed a ring in the vision she had of their mystic marriage. The figure recurs frequently in early Netherlandish art. Indeed, this drawing is itself a copy of a lost original: faint marks indicate that it was made using a tracing. Beautifully preserved, it seems to have been treasured as a rare collector’s item.