Coronation of the Virgin

About the Artwork

This picture’s original use is uncertain. Its size and shape are appropriate for a predella (the pedestal portion of an altarpiece), which often consists of several small panels. However, the Coronation of the Virgin almost never appears on predellas. The panel’s minute detail and rich finish suggest it may have been an object for private devotion. This is believed to be an early work by Fra Angelico, whose real name was Guido di Pietro, a Dominican monk in Florence. Here, an angel holds the Virgin’s train while she kneels to receive the crown offered by Christ. The scene glimmers with gold; the thrones are draped with starry tapestries, the walls are hung with gold cloth, and Christ himself radiates light.

Provenance

-1924: Count Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi (1878-1955), Rome, Italy 1924-1944: Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss (1865–1944), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1944-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Exhibition of the Month: The Rise of the Landscape in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 9-September 26, 1948). Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963). Fra Angelico. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 24, 2005-January 30, 2006).

Quick Overview

Artist: Fra Angelico (Italian, 1400–1455)
Date: 1420s
Medium: tempera and gold on wood panel
Dimensions: Framed: 45.5 x 51.5 x 8.5 cm (17 15/16 x 20 1/4 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 27 x 37.2 cm (10 5/8 x 14 5/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection
Accession no.: 1944.79

More by Fra Angelico in museum collections

Saint Anthony Abbot
Fra Angelico
1440–41 · Painting
Public collection via the Art Institute of ChicagoAT-00001576

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.