3-002-666 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Coronation of the Virgin with Angels and Four Saints, probably after 1475. In this altarpiece, Christ places a crown upon the head of his kneeling mother, the Virgin Mary, an act symbolic of their status as King and Queen of Heaven. The golden circle surrounding the two has been engraved with different designs representing the music of the heavenly spheres (the movement of the planets was believed to produce harmonies that could not be heard by humans). Around the circle is a host of worshiping angels; below are (from left to right) Saints John the Baptist, Augustine, his mother Monica, and Nicholas of Bari. At the bottom of the panel two angels adore a painted tabernacle depicting the Crucifixion. This section was cut and hinged to provide a recess in the altarpiece that may have housed the consecrated Host for use in the Mass.