DÜRER Albrecht (1471 - 1528) - "The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine". c.1498. Woodcut. Signed with the artist's monogram at the bottom of the plate. Ref: Bartsch, no. 120, Meder, no. 236. Hollstein, no. 236. Proof of a late print, on laid paper (the wood has been in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, since 1921). Margins. Saint Catherine of Alexandria was one of the most venerated saints of Dürer's time. Condemned to torture and death by the Emperor Maxentius, she was saved by a rain of fire that destroyed the wheel on which she was to be tied. Although spared by her fate, she is finally beheaded. In this composition, Dürer merges the two scenes of her martyrdom, the destruction of the wheel by divine intervention and her death. The scene of chaos and destruction caused by the fiery rain, very reminiscent of the catastrophic events of the Apocalypse, is juxtaposed with the serene figure of the Saint kneeling before her executioner, calmly awaiting her death. 42 x 30.5 cm. Condition A/B (rare small folds on the edge of the margins, a tiny small stain in the right margin and slight traces of insolation on the verso, one of which is visible on the recto).