Coronation of Mary

This Coronation of the Virgin by Paolo Veneziano, painted around 1324, reflects the distinctive Byzantine-Gothic synthesis of the Venetian school. Paolo Veneziano was the leading painter in early Trecento Venice, bridging the ornamental richness of Byzantine tradition with the emerging naturalism of Italian Gothic art. Now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the panel demonstrates Venice's unique position as a cultural crossroads between Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

Executed in egg tempera with extensive gold leaf on panel. Paolo Veneziano's style combines the flat, decorative patterning and jewel-like color of Byzantine icons with Gothic linear elegance in the drapery and architectural framing.