The painting probably dates from shortly before Rottenhammer's move from Rome to Venice, about 1595/6, & is mentioned by his biographer, Carel van Mander (1604), who describes it as the first work to have brought fame to the painter. This meticulously e ...

The subject is more properly the Glorification of the Virgin, who is usually shown crowned by Christ & God the Father. Here the Virgin is crowned by angels (possibly as ' Regina angelorum'
- Queen of angels) & elements of the Assumption are mingled with those of the Glorification. The most evolved of Reni's treatments of the subject & generally dated about 1607.
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This was probably the central panel of an altarpiece, possibly from the church of San Giovanni de' Fieri near Pisa. It probably dates from the 1380s. Agnolo Gaddi, son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi, worked chiefly in Florence where the Coronation of the Virgin was an extremely popular subject for an altarpiece (see also ' The Coronation of the Virgin' by Jacopo di Cione & that by Lorenzo Monaco). The pink in Christ's robes & in the robes of the Virgin may have originally been richer & have faded with time. Many of the old retouchings have become discoloured. ...

The composition is based on the central panel of the ' Baroncelli Polyptych' signed by Giotto. Both have as their subject the coronation of the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven, & intercessor for mankind. The surface of Daddi's painting, however, is more decorative than Giotto's, with a harmonious arrangement of gold-patterned pinks, whites & greys, dramatically contrasting with the bold celestial blue of Christ's robe. He also made the Virgin's pose deliberately ambiguous, so that we are unsure whether she is enthroned or kneeling in a posture of humility. This is the upper part of a panel that once had figures of four music-making angels & Saint John the Baptist & a deacon saint (probably Saint Stephen) in the lower part, which survives at Christ Church, Oxford. It is possible that this was a single independent panel, or that it was once part of a polyptych, made for the high altar of a church. ...

The ' Coronation of the Virgin', the centre panel of the altarpiece, shows Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven by her son Jesus Christ, in the presence of saints & choirs of angels with musical instruments. The saints on the left wing include Benedict (in white) with a book inscribed with the words from his Rule, Matthew with a book inscribed with words from his Gospel (2: 1), Miniato, Stephen, & Francis. Among the saints on the right wing are Romuald (in white), Peter holding keys, John the Evangelist with a book inscribed with words from his Gospel (1: 1), Lawrence & Dominic. The altarpiece comes from the Camaldolese monastery (now destroyed) of San Benedetto fuori della Porta a Pinti, Florence. It is a smaller version of one painted in 1414 for the main church of the order in Florence, where Lorenzo Monaco was a monk. The vertical strips on either side of this central panel have been reconstructed in order to recreate the effect of a unified pictorial surface. ...

The central panel shows Christ crowning the Virgin surrounded by saints; while on the left shutter is the Nativity, on the right, the Crucifixion. Above are the Archangel Gabriel & the Virgin Annunciate. The reverse of the shutters shows scenes from the Birth & Life of the Virgin. These are, from left to right & top to bottom: the Expulsion of Joachim, the Angel appearing to Joachim, the Meeting at the Golden Gate, the Birth of the Virgin, the Presentation of the Virgin, & the Marriage of the Virgin. This triptych was painted for private devotions & is one of only two works by the artist known to have been made in Lombardy. It is not known for whom it was commissioned. The inclusion of gilded glass (verre eglomisé) in the spandrels of a panel is unusual. ...

The 12 main panels of the altarpiece, one of the largest to be commissioned in 14th-century Florence, are in the National Gallery Collection. The predella shows scenes from the life of Saint Peter & is dispersed in different collections. The painting was commissioned for the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, probably by the Albizzi family. The accounts of 1370 show that a certain Niccolò, probably Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, designed the altarpiece. It was probably painted by Jacopo di Cione & assistants. It was completed in 1371. In the centre of the composition are Christ & the Virgin, dressed in white & gold, & seated upon a canopied throne surrounded by angels. The panels to each side are densely crowded with saints; to the left a prominent Saint Peter carries a model of San Pier Maggiore. The middle tier of the altarpiece, which would have been supported by heavy buttresses, showed (from left to right) the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, the Resurrection, the Maries at the Sepulchre, the Ascension & Pentecost. In the three pinnacles above, the Trinity appeared in the centre with adoring angels on each side. A later, more fluent, Florentine version of the theme is ' The Coronation of the Virgin' by Lorenzo Monaco. ...

In the Trinity (top right), the four creatures with the heads of an eagle, man, ox & lion symbolise, respectively, the four Evangelists: John, Matthew, Luke & Mark. The ' Crucifixion' contains many of the incidents found in the nearly contemporary vers ...

The sitter was Ellen Odette Bischoffsheim (1857
- 1933). She married the 4th Earl of Desart in 1881 as his second wife, & from
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Create your own bespoke print of Pieter de Hooch’s The Courtyard of a House in Delft from our collection. About this painting The Courtyard of a House in Delft, 1658 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1871 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...