Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece
1344
Guariento di Arpo (Italian, c.1310-c.1370)
On View

Mary’s coronation as Queen of Heaven occupies the center of the altarpiece, with smaller narrative scenes and representations of saints and angels surrounding it. The altarpiece illustrates the major events of the New Testament in pictorial form. It likely occupied the place of honor above the main altar in the church of San Martino in Piove di Sacco, outside of Padua.

Guariento di Arpo worked in Padua, where the influence of Giotto was primary. Like his famous predecessor, Guariento endows his figures with solidity and naturalism. His own highly individual expression is evident in the refined linear technique and limpid color, which anticipate the International Gothic style. The gold-leaf background emphasizes the spiritual nature of these Christian mysteries.

Details

  • Artist Name: Guariento di Arpo (Italian, c.1310-c.1370)
  • Title: Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece
  • Date: 1344
  • Medium: Tempera and gold leaf on panels (32)
  • Dimensions: overall: 86 x 104-3/8 in. (218.4 x 265.1 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
  • Accession Number: M.1987.3.01-32.P
  • Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation

Object Information

Church of San Martino de Piove de Sacco, outside of Padua.
Grand Ducal Collection, Florence, Tuscany (probably under tenure of Ferdinand III [1769-1824], but certainly still with his son, Leopold II [1747-1792], whose seal is on the reverse of one of the panels).
[Böhm, Josef Daniel, Vienna, sold 31 May 1845 to];
Count Czernin, Vienna and London (sale, London, Christie’s, 7 July 1972, lot 14, ill., to);
[Speelman, London];
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
  • Landler, Edward and Brad Byer, "I Build the Tower": The Passion of Sam Rodia (Non-profit and festival release of the documentary),
  • Fitzgerald, A., Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, pp. 167, 188, 192
  • D'Arcais, F., tGuariento, pp. 15-19, 74-76
  • Frimmel, T. von, Blatter für Gemäldekunde, p. 101
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, pp. 10-11
  • Toesca, P., Storia dell'Arte Italiana, Il Trecento, pp. 714-717
  • Caroselli, Susan L., Italian Panel Painting of the Early Renaissance in the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,fig. 5 pp. 13-14
  • White, J., The Burlington Magazine, pp. 517-526
  • D'Arcais, Francesca, et. al., Guariento: il maestro degli angeli,2011, Fig. 3 p. 19
  • Berenson, Bernhard, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, p. 268
  • Kruft, H., Neue Literatur zur oberitalianischen Malerei des Trecento, p. 335
  • Crowe, J.; and G. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Italy,no. 1 p. 241
  • Tieto, Paolo, Respice Stellam, pp. v-vi.
  • Palluchini, R., "La Pittura Veneziana del Trecento", pp. 198-199
  • Eitelberger, R., Osterreichische Blatter für Literatur, p. 993
  • White, John, Studies in Late Medieval Italian Art,
  • Z. Murat, Guariento: Pittore di corte, maestro de naturale,2015, pp. 30-32, 57-59, and tavv. VI-VII
  • Sandberg-Vavalà, E., Art in America,pls. F, H pp. 3-15
  • Rowlands, J., The Burlington Magazine, p. 422
  • Frimmel, T. von, Lexikon der Wiener Gemäldesammlungen, pp. 190-191
  • Banzato, Davide, Giotto e il suo tempo, pp. 176-177, 180
  • Longhi, R., Paragone, p. 38
  • Cavalcaselle, G., Storia della Pittura Italiana,no. 1 p. 313
  • Kaftal, G., Iconography of the Saints in the Painting of North East Italy, pp. 580, 693, 888
  • Juffinger, Roswitha and Imma Walderdorff, Czernin: Verzeichnis der Gemälde,2015,
  • Wilczek, K., Katalog der Graf Czerninschen Gemäldegalerie in Wien,no. 22
  • Berenson, Bernhard, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Central Italian and North Italian Schools,pl. 238 p. 205
  • Suida, W., Belvedere, p. 67
  • Tieto, Paolo, Madre di Dio: Iconografia mariana lungo i secoli a Piove di Sacco, pp. 27-28, 29-31
  • D'Arcais, F., Arte Veneta,fig. 13 pp. 9-10, 18
  • Waagen, G., Die Vornehmsten Kunstdenkmaler in Wien,pt. 1, no. 22 p. 302
  • Brown, H., A Corpus of Trecento Pictures with Musical Subject Matter, pp. 232-233
  • Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia Vol. 1 A to K,2004, 465
  • Sandberg-Vavalà, E., Art in America, p. 29
  • Fiocco, G., Verona e il suo territorio,pt. 2 p. 195
  • Coletti, L., Rivista d'Arte, pp. 330, 352, 359
  • Dyrness, William, Visual Faith: Art, Theology and Worship in Dialogue,fig. 11 p. 43
  • Hutter, H., Jahrbuch der Kunst Sammlunger in Wien, pp. 35-58
  • Schlosser, J., Jahrbuch der Kunstsammlungen,no. 3 p. 16
  • Siena, Florence and Padua: Art, Society and Religion 1280-1400, pp. 211-212, 262, 266, 278
  • Rotter, Malena, Unsichtbares sichtbar machen. Strategien zur Darstellung des überirdischen Raumes in der italienischen Malerei des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts,2021, p.136
  • Coletti, L., I Primitivi, pp. l, liv-lv
  • Bettini, S. and L. Puppi, La chiesa degli Eremitani di Padova, pp. 37, 43
  • Douglas Alton Smith, A History of the Lute from Antiquity to the Renaissance,fig. 10 p. 24
  • Suida, W., Belvedere, pp. 11-14
  • Palluchini, R., La Pittura Veneziana del Trecento, pp. 107-108
  • Katalog der Graf Czernin'schen Gemälde-Galerie in Wien,no. 22
  • The Dictionary of Art, pp. 746-747
  • Coletti, L., I Padani,
  • D'Arcais, F., Guariento: tutta la pittura, pp. 18-22, 52, 59, 62-63
Listen
Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español
Escuchar
Audioguía
English | Español
Leer
Transcripción de Audioguía
English | Español
Listen
Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español
Escuchar
Audioguía
English | Español
Leer
Transcripción de Audioguía
English | Español
Listen
Children's Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Children's Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español
Escuchar
Audioguía Infantil
English | Español
Leer
Transcripción de Audioguía Infantil
English | Español

Additional Artwork by Artist

Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece: Angel of the Annunciation Guariento di Arpo 1344
Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece: Crucifixion Guariento di Arpo 1344
Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece: Deposition Guariento di Arpo 1344

Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.

Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.

Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.

Reproduction Request Form