Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with an Angel [right panel]

Pietro Lorenzetti

National Gallery of Art

Shown from the hips up, a woman wearing a crown braces a wooden wheel against a gold background on a panel shaped to come to a sharp point at the top of this vertical painting. The woman’s pale skin is faintly tinged with green and gray. Her body faces us, and she looks at us with light brown, almond-shaped eyes. She has a long, straight nose, full cheeks, and her pink lips are closed. Her blond hair sweeps back from her face under the gold crown, which is set with blue and red gems. Her dress and cloak have gold leafy patterns against ivory white, and are edged with brick red. She wraps the cloak around her left elbow, to our right, and grips the fabric in that hand. The other elbow is slung over the wooden wheel, and she holds a palm frond in that hand. A gold halo is incised onto the background. Above the woman, narrow molding affixed to the panel creates a rounded but pointed arch set under the sharp point at the top of the panel. Between the arch and the triangular tip, an angel with yellow and blue wings and blond hair is shown from the chest up. The angel’s body faces us but the head is almost in profile to our left. A narrow palm frond is held by one shoulder, and a butter-yellow cloth drapes over a cardinal-red gown. The surface of the painting is cracked and chipped, especially in the gold areas.