# Portrait of Catherine II [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ANTROPOV, Aleksey Petrovich]() - Date: 1751-1800 - Technique: Oil on canvas ## Commentary The painting depicts many attributes of the Empress' imperial status. In her right hand Catherine is holding a bejewelled sceptre which she has just picked up from a red pillow decorated with gold embroidery and gold tassels. Two other attributes of royalty, a crown and an orb, rest on the pillow. The crown, made especially for the coronation, consists of over 5000 diamonds \(about 3000 carats\) topped by an enormous 415-carat red spinel. The orb, made of solid gold, is enhanced by a band of diamonds and by a 47-carat sapphire. ## Related artworks - [Portrait of Catherine II]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()