Niccolò
di Pietro (active 1394-1427/30)
St. Ursula and Her Maidens
Tempera and gold on wood
Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York
The large central figure is the Virgin Mary. The inscription on her
belt is [AVE] MARIA GRATIA PL[ENA],
"Hail Mary, full of grace." St. Ursula is the second-largest figure,
the one with the palm in her right hand. That leaves eleven
smaller figures -- easier to paint than eleven thousand!
Also see detail of the head
More of St. Ursula
Photographed at the
site by Richard Stracke