Worshipping Angels

Ugolino di Nerio painted these Worshipping Angels around 1325, likely as part of the upper register of the Santa Croce altarpiece, where celestial figures flanked a central Crucifixion or enthroned Christ. Angels in attitudes of adoration and worship were essential elements of Trecento polyptych design, creating a heavenly court around the principal sacred figures. The panel is now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, separated from its original monumental context.

Executed in egg tempera on panel with gold ground, the angels are depicted in attitudes of reverent worship with clasped hands and inclined heads. Ugolino's refined technique produces luminous, ethereal figures with delicate facial features and flowing robes rendered in his characteristic palette of soft pinks, blues, and whites against the shimmering gold surface.