The Virgin: Altarpiece Pinnacle (left)

The Virgin pinnacle panel from the Pratovecchio Altarpiece shows Mary within the altarpiece's upper register, part of the Annunciation pairing with the Gabriel roundel. Altarpiece pinnacles typically housed smaller figures or busts — saints, prophets, or figures from the Annunciation — placed above the main panels to complete the theological programme. The National Gallery's possession of multiple components from the same altarpiece allows partial reconstruction of what must have been a substantial ensemble for a Florentine church or chapel.

Tempera and gold leaf on panel. The pinnacle format — tall and narrow — concentrates the Virgin's presence in a vertically elongated field. Drapery folds are rendered with the linear precision characteristic of mid-century Florentine panel painting, the gold leaf background reinforcing the sacred register.