# The Martyrdom of St Catherine [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DÜRER, Albrecht]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Woodcut, 387 x 284 mm ## Commentary The woodcut confirms the function of costume studies as independent source material, for here the saint appears in Venetian costume. St Catherine, an Alexandrian princess, suffered a martyr's death during the reign of the heathen Roman emperor Maxentius, as a result of her missionary work during the period when Christians were being persecuted. She was condemned to be broken on the wheel, but it collapsed at God's command and a rain of fire killed many heathens. Here, this event is shown together with the beheading of St Catherine. This print is closely related in style to the Apocalypse. ## Related artworks - [A Young Girl of Cologne and Dürer's Wife]() - [Abduction of a Woman]() - [Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam \(detail\)]() - [Adam]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()