Artwork
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel]
![Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel], by Agnolo Gaddi, tempera, 1387](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/agnolo-gaddi--madonna-and-child-enthroned-with-twelve-angels-and-with-the--f99a5efe37ce8dda-w1024.webp)
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel] is a tempera painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Agnolo Gaddi. It dates from 1387 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:across the bottom: AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA DOMINUS [TECUM] (Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; from Luke 1:28); on the book held by the Redeemer in the gable: EGO SUM / A[ET] O PRINCI / PIU[M] [ET] FINIS / EGO SUM VI / A. VERITAS / [ET] VITA (I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, I am the way, the truth, and the life; from John 14:6; Revelations 22:13)
About this work
Technique & Style
The specific handling of the tempera medium on the wood panel defines its formal presence within the triptych structure.
Executed shortly before 1387, this work is a tempera painting on a poplar panel support. The central panel measures 204 centimeters in height and 80 centimeters in width. As a religious composition by Agnolo Gaddi, the piece utilizes the traditional materials and techniques characteristic of Florentine painting on the eve of the Renaissance.
The specific handling of the tempera medium on the wood panel defines its formal presence within the triptych structure.
History & Provenance
The middle panel of the triptych was likely created shortly before 1387, when Benedetto di Nerozzo Alberti left funds for the decoration of the church of San Miniato al Monte, Florence, in a codicil appended to his 1377 will. The Alberti family's patronage is further supported by the inclusion of three saints linked to their lineage in the side panels.
By the early nineteenth century the work was probably housed in the church's sacristy, from which it may have been removed shortly after 1830. It entered the Ashburnham collection in Sussex by 1878 and passed through successive earls until sold in 1919 to Duveen Brothers, who transferred it to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust in 1936 before its 1937 gift to the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
The work is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Collection. Its inventory number is not specified in the cited sources, and no exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Agnolo Gaddi completed Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel] in 1387. This religious painting, rendered in tempera on a poplar panel, depicts a traditional Christian theme. It serves as a central devotional image, characteristic of Italian Renaissance art from the late 14th century, emphasizing spiritual grandeur through its composition and materials.
Subject & Meaning
The painting centers on the Virgin Mary, majestically seated on a throne, cradling the Christ Child on her lap. She is accompanied by a host of twelve angels, who frame the central figures and contribute to the celestial atmosphere. This arrangement underscores Mary's role as the Queen of Heaven and the mother of the divine, a common iconographic representation in medieval and early Renaissance art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Agnolo Gaddi (c.1350–1396) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Florence, and was the son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi, who was himself the major pupil of the Florentine master Giotto. Agnolo was a painter…
![Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel], by Agnolo Gaddi](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/agnolo-gaddi--saint-bernard-and-saint-catherine-of-alexandria-with-the-vir--710fc1ea417a9916-w320.webp)
Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel]![Saint Andrew and Saint Benedict with the Archangel Gabriel [left panel], by Agnolo Gaddi](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/agnolo-gaddi--saint-andrew-and-saint-benedict-with-the-archangel-gabriel-l--ddd94720dea7e794-w320.webp)
Saint Andrew and Saint Benedict with the Archangel Gabriel [left panel]![Madonna and Child with Saints Andrew, Benedict, Bernard, and Catherine of Alexandria with Angels [entire triptych], by Agnolo Gaddi](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/agnolo-gaddi--madonna-and-child-with-saints-andrew-benedict-bernard-and-ca--93a6585f38530738-w320.webp)
Madonna and Child with Saints Andrew, Benedict, Bernard, and Catherine of Alexandria with Angels [entire triptych]
The Coronation of the Virgin with Six Angels
Triptych
Madonna with the child, St. John the Baptist, St. Francis and St. Anthony and a martyr
- Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels
![Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel], by Pietro Lorenzetti](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/pietro-lorenzetti--madonna-and-child-with-the-blessing-christ-middle-panel--02357aa6ff04175b-w320.webp)
Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel]
Madonna and Child with God the Father Blessing and Angels
Madonna and Child with Five Angels
Madonna and Child Enthroned and Twelve Angels
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels and Saints
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Four Saints