The Virgin Lactans with St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, and St. Catherine

17th century
St. Francis Monastery, Zadar, Croatia

Date provided by monastery label. Joseph is identified by his age and his position behind the Virgin and Child. The child John has the animal skin worn in images of the adult John; he offers the baby some berries and another object held in his right hand.

Unusually, St. Catherine's sword is not held in her hand point-down but pierces her breast as in images of Our Lady of Sorrows. Her other attributes are the crown and the palm branch.

Read more about images of the Madonna and Child, St. John the Baptist, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Joseph.

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Photographed at the monastery by Claire Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.