Artwork
Virgin Mother and Child enthroned surrounded by the Holy Father, the Holy Ghost and Angels
Virgin Mother and Child enthroned surrounded by the Holy Father, the Holy Ghost and Angels is an unspecified painting by the Italo Byzantine artist Giovanni del Biondo. It dates from 1390 and is held in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1390 by the Italian painter Giovanni del Biondo, this panel presents a sacred assembly centered on the Virgin and Child. The composition is framed by a gold‑leaf background and a pointed wooden frame, and it now belongs to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Subject & Meaning
At the heart of the work the Virgin Mary, crowned with a halo, cradles the infant Christ, who also bears a halo and is clothed in white. Flanking them are the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit, represented by a figure with a dove, while four angels on either side raise their hands in reverence, underscoring the theological hierarchy of the scene.
Technique & Style
Del Biondo employs an Italo‑Byzantine visual language, characterized by flat gold ground, vivid red and blue decorative motifs, and stylized, elongated figures. The palette of deep reds, blues, pinks and greens, together with the use of gold leaf, reflects the Gothic sensibility while retaining the iconic rigidity of earlier Byzantine art.
History & Provenance
Active between 1356 and 1399, Giovanni del Biondo specialized in devotional panels for churches and private patrons. After centuries of private ownership, the painting entered the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where it is displayed among other works of the same period, offering insight into late‑medieval Italian religious art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni del Biondo was a 14th-century Italian painter of the Gothic and early-Renaissance period.
