Coronation of the Virgin

Object Details

Title:

Coronation of the Virgin

Artist/Maker:

Gentile da Fabriano (Italian, about 1370 - 1427)

Culture:

Italian

Date:

about 1420

Medium:

Tempera and gold leaf on panel

Dimensions:

93 × 64.1 cm (36 5/8 × 25 1/4 in.)

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Gently, Christ places the ornate gold crown upon the Virgin Mary's slightly bowed head. Groups of musical angels watch from either side as she becomes the Queen of Heaven. Gentile da Fabriano used extensive tooling, decorative patterning, gold leaf, and rich pigments to create a sumptuous surface resembling tapestry. The complex patterning, elaborate materials, and long flowing lines of the robes of the Madonna and Christ characterize the International Gothic style.

Gentile was commissioned to paint this scene for his native town, Fabriano, when he was at the height of his fame. The gold-encrusted panel functioned as a processional standard held aloft in parades that honored the Virgin Mary. The panel originally depicted The Stigmatization of Saint Francis on the reverse. Sometime prior to 1827, the panel was sawed into two sections; the Saint Francis panel is now in a private collection in Italy.

Provenance
about 1420 -

Church of San Francesco (Fabriano, Italy), commissioned from the artist, about 1420; transferred to the Congregation of the Fathers of the Oratory of San Filippo Neri.

-

Congregation of the Fathers of the Oratory of San Filippo Neri (Fabriano, Italy), transferred to the seminary in Fabriano, by 1827.

by 1827 -

Seminary (Fabriano, Italy)
Source: 1827 manuscript by Vincenzo Liberati, cited in Bruno Molajoli, Gentile da Fabriano (Fabriano: Edizione "Gentile," 1927), p. 112n2.

- 1835

Nocchi (Florence, Italy), sold to John Sanford, 1835.
Source: Account book/diary of Rev. Sanford, Barber Institute, Birmingham, cited in Keith Christiansen, "The Coronation of the Virgin by Gentile da Fabriano." The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal 6-7 (1978-1979), p. 10, app. 1.

1835 - 1855

Rev. John Sanford, 1775 - 1855 (London; England; Nynehead Court, Somerset, England; Florence, Italy), by inheritance to his son-in-law, Frederick Henry Paul Methuen, 1855.

1855 - 1891

Frederick Henry Paul Methuen, second baron Methuen, 1818 - 1891 (Corsham Court, Wiltshire, England), by inheritance to Paul Sanford Methuen, 1891.

1891 - 1899

Paul Sanford Methuen, third baron Methuen, 1845 - 1932 (Corsham Court, Wiltshire, England) [sold, Methuen sale, Christie's, London, May 13, 1899, lot 81, to Charles Sedelmeyer.]

1899 - 1902

Charles Sedelmeyer, 1837 - 1925 (Paris, France), sold to Henri Heugel, 1902.

1902 -

Henri Heugel (Paris, France), by inheritance within the Heugel family.

- 1976

Heugel Family (Paris, France), sold to Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., 1976.

1976 - 1977

Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd. (London, England), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1977.

Exhibitions
Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and French Masters (June 1839) (Cat. 162)
  • British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom (London), 1839
Fioritura tardogotica nelle Marche (July 24 to October 25, 1998) (Cat. 67)
  • Palazzo Ducale di Urbino Galleria Nazionale delle Marche (Urbino), July 24 to October 25, 1998
The Queen of the Angels (August 15 to November 5, 2000) (no cat.)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles), August 15 to November 5, 2000
Fit for a King: Courtly Manuscripts, 1380-1450 (June 29 to August 29, 2004) (no cat.)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles), June 29 to September 5, 2004
Bibliography

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