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Domenico Veneziano, 'The Virgin and Child Enthroned', about 1440-4

About the work

This is the central part of a painting done in fresco (painting directly on wet plaster) on the outside wall of a house in Florence. It was flanked by two saints, whose heads – the only surviving parts – are also in the National Gallery’s collection.

The grand, simple design and colours were ideal for an image that would be seen from below. The high arms of the throne project outwards towards us, framing the Virgin Mary and Christ; God the Father swoops in above and, with arms outstretched, presents them. Golden rays from his mouth pour onto the dove, the symbol of the Holy Ghost. All three members of the Trinity (God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost) are represented here.

This was Domenico’s first work in Florence. He may have been impressed by the Florentine painter Massacio’s famous fresco of the Trinity in the nearby church of Santa Maria Novella, which is also set within a fictive grey-stone arch.

Key facts

Full title
The Virgin and Child Enthroned
Artist
Domenico Veneziano
Artist dates
active 1438; died 1461
Part of the series
Carnesecchi Tabernacle
Date made
about 1440-4
Medium and support
fresco, transferred to canvas
Dimensions
241 × 120.5 cm
Inscription summary
Signed
Acquisition credit
Presented by the 26th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, 1886
Inventory number
NG1215
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
20th-century Frame

About this record

If you know more about this work or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

About the series: Carnesecchi Tabernacle

Domenico Veneziano, 'Head of a Tonsured, Beardless Saint', about 1440-4

These three fragments painted in fresco (painting directly onto wet plaster) come from the outside of a house in Florence. They were removed in the mid-nineteenth century. They were part of a street tabernacle, a large outdoor altarpiece, painted high on a wall. It included a pair of full-length standing saints – only the heads remain – that would have surrounded the central image of the Virgin and Child enthroned.

This painting was on a house built by a member of the Carnesecchi family, who owned several properties in the area; the street was called the Canto de' Carnesecchi. This was a very visible spot on the route of religious processions in the city.

Head of a Tonsured, Beardless Saint
Head of a Tonsured, Beardless Saint
Domenico Veneziano
This is a fragment of a wall-painting made using the fresco technique (painting directly onto wet plaster). It comes from a ’street tabernacle‘ – an outdoor religious painting – that showed the Virgin and Child surrounded by two saints.It is the head of one of the saints. We can’t identify him fr...
Not on display
Head of a Tonsured, Bearded Saint
Head of a Tonsured, Bearded Saint
Domenico Veneziano
This is a fragment of a wall-painting made using the fresco technique (painting directly onto wet plaster). It comes from a ’street tabernacle‘ – an outdoor religious painting – that showed the Virgin and Child surrounded by two saints.It is the head of one of the saints. We can’t identify him fr...
Not on display
The Virgin and Child Enthroned
The Virgin and Child Enthroned
Domenico Veneziano
This is the central part of a painting done in fresco (painting directly on wet plaster) on the outside wall of a house in Florence. It was flanked by two saints, whose heads – the only surviving parts – are also in the National Gallery’s collection.The grand, simple design and colours were ideal...
Not on display