# Maestà \(detail\) [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DUCCIO di Buoninsegna]() - Date: 1301-1350 - Technique: Tempera on wood ## Commentary This detail shows St Catherine of Alexandria at the left side of the Maestà. As a princess, the saint wears a golden crown. The martyr's palm branch is a symbol of the martyrdom she suffered under the Roman Emperor, Maxentius, in the 4th century AD. The circular halo was incised with a pair of compasses. Embossing tools were used to etch the pattern into the gilded surface. These tools were rested vertically on the pictorial surface, then lightly tapped with a hammer. Since the plaster ground is flexible, the gold leaf did not tear. ## Related artworks - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(scene 3\)]() - [Agony in the Garden \(detail\)]() - [Agony in the Garden \(detail\)]() - [Agony in the Garden \(scene 6\)]() - [Announcement of Death to the Virgin \(detail\)]() - [Announcement of Death to the Virgin \(detail\)]() - [Announcement of Death to the Virgin \(panel 1\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(scene 1\)]() - [Appearance Behind Locked Doors \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()