The Coronation of the Virgin with Six Angels

The Coronation of the Virgin is the final episode in the story of Mary’s life. After her death, she ascended to heaven, body and soul, to be crowned queen by her son. Angels sang and played music in celebration. The subject of the Virgin’s coronation was especially popular in Florence during the last half of the 14th century. Often it appeared at the center of a tripartite altarpiece, flanked by crowded scenes of adoring saints on either side. Very likely, this painting was originally part of such an assemblage.

The subject of Mary’s coronation—an appropriate place for the display of regal finery—complemented a late-Gothic renewal in contemporary Florentine painting. During the later 14th century, artists explored the expressive potential of curvilinear contours and richly decorated surfaces in combination with the naturalistic approach pioneered earlier by the Florentine artist Giotto (Florentine, c. 1265 - 1337). The father of Agnolo Gaddi (Florentine, c. 1350 - 1396), in whose shop the painter had trained, had been a disciple of Giotto. But here Agnolo has departed from Giotto’s heavier and simpler forms in favor of more slender and refined figures. Mary and Jesus appear _on_, rather than _in_ the space they inhabit. Profuse patterns appear in the gold brocades of their robes and the rich cloth of honor behind them fills most of the picture plane, drawing our eyes to it. Where Giotto had given his figures a certain solemnity to match their physical weight, the faces of Agnolo’s figures exhibit a gentle elegance and sweetness.