Full title | The Coronation of the Virgin |
---|---|
Artist | Lorenzo Monaco |
Artist dates | active 1399; died 1423 or 1424 |
Date made | 1388-1390 |
Medium and support | Tempera on wood |
Dimensions | 195 × 154.7 × 12 cm |
Acquisition credit | On loan from The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London |
Inventory number | L1259 |
Location | Room 60 |
Art route(s) | A |
Image copyright | On loan from The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London |
Collection | Main Collection |
The Coronation of the Virgin – the moment of the Virgin’s reception into heaven by Christ – was a popular subject in Florentine painting. Seated within an architectural throne, the Virgin bows her head and crosses her hands in a gesture of humility as she receives the pointed crown of the queen of heaven.
Lorenzo Monaco painted several versions of this subject, including his large altarpiece for the monastery of San Benedetto fuori della Porta Pinti. Lorenzo approached these paintings of the same subject rather differently. This panel, dating from 20 years earlier in his career, is more intimate but no less legible. It was once the crowning panel to an altarpiece he painted for the church of San Gaggio, Florence. Lorenzo uses intricate punchwork and mordant gilding to mimic lampas silks, imported from the near east and imitated by Italian craftsmen.
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