Virgin and Child; Coronation of the Virgin

Virgin and Child; Coronation of the Virgin, painted around 1480 and held at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, combines two Marian subjects within a single compositional programme—possibly as a tondo or a diptych format. The pairing of the earthly Virgin with her infant and the heavenly Coronation creates a theological narrative arc from incarnation to glorification, a meaningful devotional sequence. The Museum of Fine Arts Boston holds a significant collection of Italian Renaissance works, and this Ghirlandaio sits within a broader context of New England institutional collecting of Florentine quattrocento painting.

The combination of two subjects within a single work required Ghirlandaio to negotiate their spatial and thematic relationship—possibly through an arched or circular format, or by dividing the composition into registers. His handling in each zone would be calibrated to the subject: warmth and intimacy for the earthly Madonna, gold and celestial organisation for the heavenly Coronation.