beheaded, and
St. Catherine went cheerfully to her death.

Other virgin martyrs may have been as good and as beautiful as St.
Catherine, but none were so wise. We know her in our picture by the
book she holds. Eager to acquire all the treasures of knowledge, she
fixes her eyes on the page, absorbed in her occupation. Already she
has read more than half the thick volume, smiling with quiet enjoyment
as she reads. There is little in the face to suggest the scholar or
the bookworm. Were this a modern picture, we should fancy it a young
lady reading her favorite poet. As it is, however, we must believe
that the book is some work by Plato or another of the ancient writers
whom St. Catherine could quote so readily. We need not wonder that she
does not knit her brow over any difficult passages. What might be hard
for another to grasp is perfectly clear to her understanding.

The beautiful hair coiled over her head is the only coronet the
princess wears. There is no sign of her royalty, and we may infer that
the picture represents her in those early days of girlhood before the
cares of government were laid on the young shoulders. As we study the
position of the figure we see that the left arm rests on the rim of a
wheel, making a support for the hand holding the book. The wheel is
the emblem most frequently associated with St. Catherine, as the
reminder of the tortures inflicted by Maxentius. The palm branch
caught in the fingers of the left hand is the symbol used alike for
all the martyrs. The reference is to that passage in the book of
Revelation which describes the saints standing before the throne "with
palms in their hands."[5]

[Footnote 5: Revelation vii. 9.]

It is pleasant to believe that Correggio took unusual pains with this
picture of St. Catherine. The story of the lovely young princess seems
to have appealed to his imagination, and he has conceived an ideal
figure for her character. The exquisite oval of the face, the delicate
features, and the beautiful hair make this one of the most attractive
faces in his works.

The light falls over the right shoulder, casting one side of the face
in shadow. The modulations of light on the chin and neck, and the
gradation in the shadow cast by the book on the hand, show Correggio's
mastery of chiaroscuro.

III

THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE

At the time of her coronation, St. Catherine knew nothing of the
Christian faith, but she had set for herself an idea