Ruskin is presumably referring to Madonna and Child with St. John Baptist and St. Catherine, by Titian, in the Pitti palace, brought to Florence in 1631 by Vittoria della Rovere on her marriage to Ferdinand II dei Medici. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian: Complete Edition, I. p. 104, considers it a copy based on the version of the picture bought by the National Gallery in London in 1860.
The earliest versions of the mystic marriage of St. Catherine followed the legend of the Christ Child, held by the Virgin, placing a ring on the finger of St. Catherine. In Titian 's painting though there is no evidence of the ring; it is instead an interpretation set in a landscape of 'fullness and intensity' and 'eliciting subtle psychological touches of intimate and affectionate naturalness from the poses and gestures' ( Rossi, 'Madonna with St. Catherine and the Infant Baptist', p. 208).
Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) c.1490-1576
Madonna and Child with Saint Catherine and the Infant Baptist late C16th
Oil on canvas, 93x130cm
Provenance: Ducal Palace, Urbino (inventory of 1624-recorded as by Tintoretto); brought to Florence in 1631 by Vittoria della Rovere on her marriage to Ferdinand II dei Medici; Cardinal Leopoldp dei Medici by 1675 (recorded as School of Mantua); Inventory of 1723
Further Comments: This painting is a copy after Titian, his original of c.1530 is in the National Gallery, London.
Collection: Pitti Palace, Florence
For a reproduction of this artistic work, please consult: Wethey, Harold E., Titian: The Religious Paintings, (Phaidon, 1969), pl.33