INNOCENZO FRANCUCCI, known as INNOCENZO DA IMOLA
Imola, 1490 – Bologna, 1546
Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine
oil on board, cm. 86×69
Dated: 1540 – 1545 ca.
The splendid painting depicts “The Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine” with Saint Joseph and a young John the Baptist, and is attributed by Alessandro Delpriori and Mattia Vinco to Innocenzo Francucci, known as Innocenzo da Imola.
Following a possible initiation at his father’s workshop, in the early years of the 16th century, the painter was active Bologna where, according to Cesare Malvasia’s “Felsina Pittrice”, he may have studied under Francesco Francia (Bologna, 1447 – 1517). In Bologna, Innocenzo lived and worked until his death, although works attributed to him are documented in other locations. These were likely produced on commission and subsequently dispatched, through the possibility of brief sojourns outside the city cannot be excluded. This attribution is fully supported by the broad, geometric physiognomies of the figures, as well as by the characteristic elegance of their gestures and the delicately rendered drapery in soft tones – emblematic features of the artist’s distinctive style. In the painting, the Virgin Mary is depicted at the centre of the composition, while she is holding her Child, who is in the act of placing the wedding ring on Saint Catherine’s finger, symbolizing their mystical marriage. This iconography derives from a medieval text, the so-called Greek Passion (10th century), which was reworked and expanded in the following centuries, most notably in the renowned Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine.
In this panel, the three central figures in the scene are Saint Joseph accompanied by Saint Joseph, identifiable through his traditional iconography as absorbed in contemplation, and by the young Saint John the Baptist, the latter depicted with his hands joined in prayer. The composition thus presents a not uncommon depiction of the Holy Family with the Mystic Marriage, in a work that, also in light of its iconography and format, can be reasonably understood as intended for private and domestic devotion.