Virgin and Child enthroned

Lorenzo Monaco's Virgin and Child Enthroned at the Fitzwilliam Museum, painted around 1400, presents the standard devotional subject with the decorative splendor that made him Florence's most sought-after painter before the advent of Masaccio. This early work already demonstrates the luminous palette and sinuous line that define his mature style. Lorenzo Monaco — Piero di Giovanni — was a Camaldolese monk who became one of Florence's most gifted painters in the transition between the Gothic and the Early Renaissance.

The enthroned Madonna is rendered with Lorenzo Monaco's characteristic flowing draperies and luminous color, the gold ground and elaborate tooling creating a surface of exceptional decorative richness.