  About the Artwork
  
  
  Michel Sittow’s portrait of a young woman with downcast eyes, holding a jar decorated with roses, has historically been identified as an image of the Spanish-born Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Another interpretation views her blue robes, reverent expression, and unguent jar as symbols of Mary Magdalene, a prominent figure in the life of Jesus, who was believed, in medieval legend, to have descended from a princely house. On these grounds, it has been suggested that the picture represents the artist’s major patron, Isabella I of Castile. The first monarch to be referred to as “Queen of Spain,” Isabella had a sweeping legacy, including her financing of Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the Americas.
  
  
  Title
  Catherine of Aragon as the Magdalene
  
  
  Artwork Date
  between 15th and 16th century
  
  Artist
  Michel Sittow
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  ca. 1468 - 1525 or 1526
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Netherlandish
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on oak panel
  
  
  Dimensions
  Image: 12 1/16 × 9 7/16 inches (30.7 × 24 cm)
  Unframed (uncradled): 12 5/8 × 9 15/16 × 1/4 inches (32.1 × 25.3 × 0.6 cm)
  Unframed (cradled): 12 5/8 × 9 15/16 × 7/8 inches (32.1 × 25.3 × 2.3 cm)
  Framed: 18 1/2 × 15 15/16 × 2 3/8 inches (47 × 40.5 × 6 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  European Painting
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  40.50
  
  
  Copyright
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