The Coronation of the Virgin

Jacopo del Casentino's The Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1320) presents the celestial crowning of Mary in the miniaturist style for which this Florentine painter was best known. Active in the early to mid-fourteenth century, Jacopo maintained connections to the older Tuscan painting tradition while absorbing elements of Giotto's innovations. His small devotional panels and tabernacles were widely collected and represent an important current in Florentine Gothic art outside the dominant Giottesque mainstream.

Painted in egg tempera on gold ground with minute precision, the composition achieves jewel-like intensity within its small format. The elaborate punch-work in the gold and the meticulous rendering of textile patterns demonstrate Jacopo's skill as a miniaturist-painter.