The Virgin and Child Enthroned

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.

Text: © The National Gallery, London

Painting photographed in its frame by Google Arts & Culture, 2023.