This was one of 28 paintings given to Charles II in 1660 as part of the Dutch Gift. Such a magnificent work by one of the foremost Venetian artists of the sixteenth century was an appropriate present for Charles II, whose father, Charles I, particularly valued Venetian art. The marriage of St Catherine to the infant Christ, symbolising her spiritual betrothal to God, was a popular subject in Italian Renaissance painting.

Presented to Charles II by the States of Holland and West Friesland, 1660.

Cat. 135