Coronation of the Virgin

Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, a Camaldolese monk of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence, was renowned as one of the greatest illuminators of the Trecento, praised by Vasari for the beauty of his miniatures. This Coronation of the Virgin represents one of the most exalted subjects in Gothic art — the moment when Christ crowns his mother as Queen of Heaven in the presence of the celestial court. The subject gained particular prominence in the fourteenth century through its association with the theology of the Assumption and the growing Marian devotion.

Executed in egg tempera and gold on panel, the work displays Don Silvestro's miniaturist sensibility in its jewel-like color and meticulous detail. The celestial hierarchy is arranged in a symmetrical composition with elaborate gold tooling and punchwork creating a radiant backdrop appropriate to the heavenly subject.