An Angel Appearing to Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Prison (recto);

A pen-and-wash drawing shows a winged angel descending through an arched opening toward a kneeling, crowned woman in a plain robe, her arms open and her gaze turned upward. Chains and a hooked iron fetter lie in the foreground beside a stone block, suggesting a prison cell. The soft brown wash and pale highlights give the sheet a quiet, luminous finish.

Look closer: A signature with date is inscribed in the lower right corner beneath the kneeling figure.

Artist

Anonymous, Spanish, School of Seville, 17th century

Date

17th century

Medium

Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache (now mostly oxidized) over traces of black chalk (recto). Compos

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2561 × 3850 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Jaffe, 1956