The Venetian Lorenzo Lotto developed a very idiosyncratic pictorial language of his own and sought unconventional iconographic solutions. This work shows a vision of St Catherine of Alexandria. While on the lookout for a suitable husband who could equal her status, wealth and intellect, a hermit presented her with a picture of the Virgin and Child and suggested Christ as her spouse. In a dream, the Christ Child thereupon placed a ring on Catherine’s finger as a sign of the mystical marriage.