Saint Barbara

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Collecting prints after cult statues and miraculous paintings was part of both the European and the Japanese pilgrimage traditions. These woodcuts ( 2009.43 , 2013.172 , and 2013.159) could be combined to create their own cult object. Saints Catherine and Barbara flank a frontal Virgin and Child, suggesting the works were intended to be mounted together as a folding domestic altarpiece. The letterpress below each image encouraged meditation and engagement. While only Catherine’s text survives in these impressions, each object would have included both stately Latin verses describing the saint’s history and martyrdom, as well as German prayers pleading for assistance and protection.

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