St. Catherine of Alexandria

Formerly treated as an anonymous work within the Sienese School, this panel has now been convincingly attributed to Niccolò di Segna. This is one of several panels of saints of a disassembled polyptych of which the center piece was a Madonna. It is an image of saintliness and sacrifice. St. Catherine stands at half length against a gold background. She is crowned and holds the palm of martyrdom and the wheel of shapes, alluding to her torture. This painting is typical Trecento Sienese in style, decorative in line and color. It exudes a sense of quiet religious sensitivity in a stylized and impersonal manner.