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.
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