CARRACCI, Annibale
(b. 1560, Bologna, d. 1609, Roma)

St Margaret

1597-99
Oil on canvas, 239 x 134 cm
Chiesa di Santa Caterina della Rosa, Rome

This altarpiece in a chapel in Santa Caterina dei Funari, Rome was commissioned by Gabriele Bombasi, a member of the Farnese entourage. The figure of the saint was taken directly from The Madonna of St Luke (now in the Louvre) which Annibale Carracci had painted for the cathedral in Reggio Emilia in 1592. The figure was copied by Lucio Massari (1569-1633), a pupil of Carracci, and Annibale carried out the finishing touches.