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Lot Essay
The subject of the Coronation of the Virgin represents the final chapter in the narrative cycle of the life of the Virgin that usually preceeds the scenes of the Death of the Virgin and the Assumption.
The earliest examples of this type of iconography can be found in the architectural adornments of early Gothic cathedrals; the most important arguably being the typanum of Notre-Dame de Paris's Coronation Portal that is dated to circa 1220. This iconography was also visible in contemporary manuscript painting, and later, on the eve of the Renaissance, on frescoes and canvases in churches dedicated to the Virgin or in monastic orders under her tutelage.
In its earliest compositional form, the Virgin was depicted seated next to, and crowned by, the resurrected Christ. From the early 15th century onwards, however, the subject matter evolved to represent the Virgin kneeling between God the Father and Christ whilst being crowned - as is the case in the present lot.
This relief is of particular interest not only for its size and quality, but also for the idiosyncratic nature of the donor-figure to the bottom left corner of the scene. Depicted kneeling penitently before this holy entourage while wearing a richly adorned cloak and with his hat in his hands, there is no doubt that this a portrait of the man who commissioned the relief for prominent display in a church or a private chapel.
The earliest examples of this type of iconography can be found in the architectural adornments of early Gothic cathedrals; the most important arguably being the typanum of Notre-Dame de Paris's Coronation Portal that is dated to circa 1220. This iconography was also visible in contemporary manuscript painting, and later, on the eve of the Renaissance, on frescoes and canvases in churches dedicated to the Virgin or in monastic orders under her tutelage.
In its earliest compositional form, the Virgin was depicted seated next to, and crowned by, the resurrected Christ. From the early 15th century onwards, however, the subject matter evolved to represent the Virgin kneeling between God the Father and Christ whilst being crowned - as is the case in the present lot.
This relief is of particular interest not only for its size and quality, but also for the idiosyncratic nature of the donor-figure to the bottom left corner of the scene. Depicted kneeling penitently before this holy entourage while wearing a richly adorned cloak and with his hat in his hands, there is no doubt that this a portrait of the man who commissioned the relief for prominent display in a church or a private chapel.