3-002-652 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, c1380-1400. Folding triptychs like this were used for private devotion. The enthroned Madonna and Child are flanked by (left to right) Sts. Nicholas, Bartholomew, Catherine of Alexandria, Anthony Abbot, Francis, and Lucy. This composition uses the metaphor of a queen surrounded by her courtiers to depict the Virgin in her role as the Queen of Heaven. The painter simulated the gold embroidered cloth of the Virgin's throne by scratching away the white paint to reveal the underlying gold leaf, which has been pricked to enhance its reflectivity.