This is the central panel of an altarpiece from Siguenza Cathedral, part of which is preserved in the sacristy. It was made up of ten panels distributed into five vertical sections and a predella. The Prado owns five of them. Two key moments marked the history of the altarpiece of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Catherine, originally sited in a chapel at the east end of Sigüenza Cathedral. The first was its execution in about 1410-12 by Juan de Sevilla in response to a commission from some prominent member of the house of La Cerda. The second took place after use of the chapel was transferred to the Arce family in 1487. At the start of the 16th century, Fernando Vázquez de Arce carried out a reappropriation and aesthetic updating of the altarpiece, ordering Juan Soreda to repaint some of the faces, particularly those of the titular saints in the central panel, and to replace the coats-of-arms. Such actions were a relatively frequent tendency in the early modern age owing to concerns for aesthetics or prestige among owners of old works.

The central panel with the effigies of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Catherine was flanked by scenes of the life and martyrdom of the two saints. The artistic personality of Juan de Sevilla is built on features characteristic of International Gothic, such as the use of very striking colour ranges and the recreation of sophisticated courtly costumes. More particular is his design of stylised figures with distinctive faces and bulging eyes. His most outstanding production is a set of altarpieces commissioned for Sigüenza Cathedral by its bishops and by the house of La Cerda (1410-20).