Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels

Spinello Aretino painted this Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels around 1390, during the peak of his career when he was among the most sought-after painters in Tuscany. Born in Arezzo to a Florentine goldsmith, Spinello trained under Agnolo Gaddi and developed a robust, energetic style that won him commissions in Florence, Arezzo, Pisa, and Siena. The enthroned Madonna with attendant angels was a quintessential subject of Italian Gothic altarpiece painting, symbolizing the Virgin's role as Queen of Heaven and intercessor for the faithful.

Painted in egg tempera and gold leaf on panel, the work features Spinello's characteristically vivid color palette and dynamic figural poses even within the formal enthroned composition. The angels flanking the throne are rendered with the lively expressiveness that distinguishes Spinello's approach from the more restrained Florentine Orcagnesque tradition.