Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece

NARRATOR:
How many Marys did you find? Did you get the two in the pictures at the very very top of the altarpiece?

NARRATOR:
As impressive as this work appears here, imagine it in its original setting, above the altar of a shadowy church, illuminated by flickering candlelight.

It was painted by the 14th-century Italian master Guariento di Arpo for a convent in Padua. In a day when most people could not read, such lavishly illustrated altarpieces reminded worshippers of the biblical stories at the center of their faith. In the central panel here, Christ crowns his mother Queen of Heaven. Music-making angels herald this joyous moment in which she becomes the compassionate mediator between God and humankind. On either side, panels illustrate events from the life of Christ. The Virgin Mary, identified by her blue robe trimmed with gold, plays a prominent role.

In many ways these scenes still adhere to the decorative, non-naturalistic conventions of medieval art -- the background has been gilded to represent the heavenly realm, and the architecture and landscape settings are simplified and compressed to fit the format. But Guariento’s interest in human emotions looks forward to the art of the Renaissance. Look, for example, just to the right of the main scene. In the panel at the center is the Deposition, when Christ’s body is taken from the cross. Notice how the distraught Virgin clings to her son’s neck as she bestows a final kiss. And how St. John, the man in pink, tenderly presses Christ’s hand to his cheek.

The bottom right corner depicts the Last Judgment. Here, Christ consigns sinners to Hell with his left hand, while his merciful mother prays for compassion. With his upturned right hand, he welcomes the faithful into Heaven, including the nun who accompanies Mary, probably one of the sisters of the convent which commissioned this painting.

Multi-paneled altarpieces, or polyptychs, such as this were once the norm in Italian churches. An early, complete one, like this, is rare, since most have long since been dismantled. Indeed, many of the panels you see in this room were once part of a much larger whole.

NARRATOR:
What if you lived in Italy 700 years ago? You probably wouldn’t know how to read––most people didn’t. You would go to church every Sunday, maybe even more often. But the mass would be in Latin, not your everyday language. How would you learn about the all-important religion that was supposed to guide you through your daily life? Well, one way would be by looking at “polyptychs"—paintings like this one with many panels. Most likely, one would hang above the altar in your church. By the way, that gold color is not just paint…it’s real gold! It’s there to make you think of the glories of heaven.

These paintings were almost like books—or better yet, comic strips—using images instead of words to remind people of stories from the Bible. The best way to “read” them is to start at the large center panel to learn what the whole thing is about—in this case, the crowning of the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven by her son, Jesus Christ.

The smaller paintings around are meant to remind you of other parts of the story. For example, if you start at the upper left, and “read” across, you’ll find three scenes with Jesus as a baby…. Did you find them?

His mother Mary has a very important part here. You can pick her out by the bright blue cloak she wears draped over her head. In fact, she appears eight times. See if you can find all eight Marys—not counting the one in the middle. When you’ve found all you can, press 622.