Madonna and Child Enthroned and Twelve Angels

Fra Angelico's Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels belongs to the tradition of the sacra maestà — the formal presentation of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven surrounded by the celestial court. The gold ground, the hierarchical arrangement, and the richness of the angels' colored robes reflect the Byzantine devotional tradition that Fra Angelico absorbed through the Trecento masters, while the figure's physical presence and the angels' individualized faces demonstrate his synthesis with Early Renaissance naturalism.

The symmetrical ranks of angels flanking the throne create an extraordinary chromatic display, with each angel rendered in a different hue using Fra Angelico's brilliant tempera palette against a gold ground.