Decorative Border

This decorative border panel by Spinello Aretino, dating to around 1391, originally formed part of a larger altarpiece ensemble now in the National Gallery, London. Spinello was one of the most prolific and accomplished late Trecento painters in Tuscany, active across Arezzo, Florence, and Siena, known for vigorous narrative scenes and richly ornamented altarpiece structures. Decorative border elements were essential components of Gothic polyptych altarpieces, providing visual unity to multi-panelled sacred ensembles.

Egg tempera and gilding on panel, featuring ornamental motifs consistent with Spinello's workshop production for large-scale altarpieces. The decorative vocabulary draws on Gothic architectural and vegetal forms rendered with the confident brushwork characteristic of this prolific master.