Lot 34: Theodor Boeyermans (Antwerp 1620-1678)

Theodor Boeyermans (Antwerp 1620-1678)
The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine
oil on canvas
21 3/8 x 15 3/8 in. (54.3 x 39.1 cm.)

Worcester, Art Museum, on loan.

James Leslie, Esq. (according to a label on the reverse).
Anonymous sale; Savoy Art & Auction Galleries, New York, 13 November 1959, lot 33, as 'Van Thulden', from where purchased by Prof. Julius S. Held.

The present painting is a bozzetto for an altarpiece in the church of the Begijnhof in Mechlin, though the sketch demonstrated significant differences from the finished work. The altarpiece in Mechlin is arched at the top, which prompted the artist to redesign the group of angels at the top of the composition. He also added a child-angel holding a crown and coat of arms in front of St. Elisabeth of Hungary at right. Additionally, the youthful saint in the foreground, possibly St. James, holds a ladder instead of the pilgrim's staff with which he is depicted in the sketch.