Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria

A dense pen-and-brown-ink composition set in a classical city square. At center, a woman kneels with hands clasped in prayer while soldiers and onlookers crowd around, and nude bodies lie sprawled in the foreground. Colonnaded buildings, an arch, and a cloud-filled sky frame the scene.

Look closer: A small figure stands on the upper-left balcony of the building, watching the scene.

Artist

Bernardino Lanino

Date

1512–83

Medium

Pen and brown ink

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2811 × 3703 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Edith A. Standen, 1971