Hendrick Goltzius, after (1558–1617), Raphael Sadeler I (XVI) - Lo sposalizio mistico di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria con la Sacra Famiglia e San Sebastiano

Refined and rare late Mannerist engraving of Flemish school. The scene depicts the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, kneeling on the left while receiving the ring from the Child Jesus, supported by the Virgin Mary. Behind them stand Saint Joseph and Saint Sebastian, the latter bound to the trunk of a tree with the arrows of martyrdom clearly visible. In the background unfolds a hilly landscape with architectural structures. At the bottom are inscribed elegant Latin distichs of a moral and religious character divided into two columns ("quos castum recreat servare pudorem..." / "Ergo age, pro casto sit mors optata...").

The sheet presents itself trimmed beyond the line of the copperplate, preserving intact the imprint of the metal plate and a small white peripheral margin, a characteristic that preserves its original integrity.