Virgin and Child with Angels

1405

Spinello Aretino

(Italian, 1350/52–1410)

Culture

Italy, early 15th Century

Medium

tempera and gold on wood panel

Measurements

Framed: 156.5 x 70.5 x 12.5 cm (61 5/8 x 27 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.); Unframed: 156.5 x 70.7 cm (61 5/8 x 27 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1977.145

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Location

110A Italian Gothic

Description

This central panel from an altarpiece shows the Madonna seated on a throne with the infant Christ, surrounded by kneeling angels and six-winged seraphim. Below is an image of the dead Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John. Above the arch is the Blessing Christ after his ascent into heaven and two more angels who gaze down on the main scene. Together these images extol the role of the Madonna in the redemption of humankind. Spinello Aretino was a painter of devotional panels, altarpieces, and frescos. His most important commissions were painted in Arezzo, Lucca, Florence, Pisa, and Siena. His concern for space and the powerful outlines of his figures reflect a greater understanding of the principles developed by Giotto and his contemporaries, yet his keen sense of decoration reveals an equal awareness of Sienese painting.