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Lot Essay
The history of the present picture, which has been universally attributed to Raphael since its original publication by Fischel in 1912, loc. cit., is indissolubly linked with that of its pendant, which was sold at Christie's, New York on 11 January 1991, lot 71 ($1,650,000) and is now in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. Although it has been contended in the past that both elements were originally parts of a single panel, examination of their edges and the decoration of their reverses demonstrates that only minor cropping can have taken place.
It seems clear that they must originally have formed the wings of a small folding altarpiece, probably of the type of Duccio's Madonna and Saints triptych in the National Gallery, London. This would also explain the asymmetry of their background decoration (see fig. A), which only makes sense when they are viewed at a slight angle. The panels have often been associated with two pictures in the collection of the painter Vincenzo Cammuccini in Rome, which formed the wings of a Madonna by Perugino (J.D. Passavant, Raphael von Urbino und sein Vater Giovanni Santi, Leipzig, 1839, II, p. 15; and A. Gruyer, Les Vierges de Raphaël et l'iconographie de la Vierge, Paris, II, p. 577, no. 12). However, these two paintings, now framed as one, are in the collection of the Duke of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle (P. Scarpellini, Il Perugino, Milan, 1984, p. 311, as by a Raphaelesque follower; and E. Camesasca, L'opera completa di Perugino, 1969, no. 86, illustrated), as most recently pointed out by Cordellier and Py (op. cit., p. 40). Many distinguished pictures at Alnwick share this Cammuccini provenance, not least Raphael's Madonna dei Garofani (N. Penny, 'Raphael's Madonna dei garofani rediscovered', The Burlington Magazine, CXXXIV, 1992, pp. 57-81).
As stated, the two panels may have flanked a small Madonna (the inscription on the reverse of the Saint Catherine also supports this), probably half-length, by Raphael. Another possibility is that they were designed to frame an earlier work of art; precedents for which are two small panels by Filippino Lippi in the Seminario Patriarchale in Venice which were made for a northern centerpiece, and Fra Bartolommeo's production of painted wings, now in the Uffizi, Florence, for a marble relief of the Madonna in the collection of Piero del Pugliese, which was believed to be by Donatello (G. Vasari, ed. J.M. Dent, e Vite, III, London, 1900, p. 280).
Cartoons for both saints survive (see fig. B): the one for the Saint Catherine, which shows her with Saint Apollonia's attribute of a pair of pliers, as well as Catherine's wheel and palm, is in the Edmond de Rothschild Collection in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Cordellier and Py, loc. cit.). It suggests either that the iconography was changed, or that Raphael envisaged being able to re-use the same figure in different contexts (a copy of the drawing in the Biblioteca Reale, Turin has the attributes of Saint Agatha; (see A. Bertini, I disegni Italiani della Biblioteca Reale di Torino, Rome, 1958, p. 16, no. 31, illustrated). In the case of the present figure, no such alterations occur, but it is not entirely clear which saint is represented. Almost without exception, she is called Mary Magdalen, but the absence of her ointment jar may argue for the less common Mary of Egypt, who is also traditionally portrayed with uncut hair.
It is generally agreed that these are early works, either executed in Umbria around 1503 just before Raphael's move to Florence, or around 1504 and just after the move. The upward-tilted expression and swaying pose of the present figure are certainly both typically Umbrian, and good comparisons may be found in the work of Perugino as well as in one of the foreground apostles of Raphael's Coronation of the Virgin of circa 1503 in the Vatican.
It seems clear that they must originally have formed the wings of a small folding altarpiece, probably of the type of Duccio's Madonna and Saints triptych in the National Gallery, London. This would also explain the asymmetry of their background decoration (see fig. A), which only makes sense when they are viewed at a slight angle. The panels have often been associated with two pictures in the collection of the painter Vincenzo Cammuccini in Rome, which formed the wings of a Madonna by Perugino (J.D. Passavant, Raphael von Urbino und sein Vater Giovanni Santi, Leipzig, 1839, II, p. 15; and A. Gruyer, Les Vierges de Raphaël et l'iconographie de la Vierge, Paris, II, p. 577, no. 12). However, these two paintings, now framed as one, are in the collection of the Duke of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle (P. Scarpellini, Il Perugino, Milan, 1984, p. 311, as by a Raphaelesque follower; and E. Camesasca, L'opera completa di Perugino, 1969, no. 86, illustrated), as most recently pointed out by Cordellier and Py (op. cit., p. 40). Many distinguished pictures at Alnwick share this Cammuccini provenance, not least Raphael's Madonna dei Garofani (N. Penny, 'Raphael's Madonna dei garofani rediscovered', The Burlington Magazine, CXXXIV, 1992, pp. 57-81).
As stated, the two panels may have flanked a small Madonna (the inscription on the reverse of the Saint Catherine also supports this), probably half-length, by Raphael. Another possibility is that they were designed to frame an earlier work of art; precedents for which are two small panels by Filippino Lippi in the Seminario Patriarchale in Venice which were made for a northern centerpiece, and Fra Bartolommeo's production of painted wings, now in the Uffizi, Florence, for a marble relief of the Madonna in the collection of Piero del Pugliese, which was believed to be by Donatello (G. Vasari, ed. J.M. Dent, e Vite, III, London, 1900, p. 280).
Cartoons for both saints survive (see fig. B): the one for the Saint Catherine, which shows her with Saint Apollonia's attribute of a pair of pliers, as well as Catherine's wheel and palm, is in the Edmond de Rothschild Collection in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Cordellier and Py, loc. cit.). It suggests either that the iconography was changed, or that Raphael envisaged being able to re-use the same figure in different contexts (a copy of the drawing in the Biblioteca Reale, Turin has the attributes of Saint Agatha; (see A. Bertini, I disegni Italiani della Biblioteca Reale di Torino, Rome, 1958, p. 16, no. 31, illustrated). In the case of the present figure, no such alterations occur, but it is not entirely clear which saint is represented. Almost without exception, she is called Mary Magdalen, but the absence of her ointment jar may argue for the less common Mary of Egypt, who is also traditionally portrayed with uncut hair.
It is generally agreed that these are early works, either executed in Umbria around 1503 just before Raphael's move to Florence, or around 1504 and just after the move. The upward-tilted expression and swaying pose of the present figure are certainly both typically Umbrian, and good comparisons may be found in the work of Perugino as well as in one of the foreground apostles of Raphael's Coronation of the Virgin of circa 1503 in the Vatican.