Images

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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=F1E4478B92300E040481713861AEB90CCE2730DD71537774C25EEAAD99BDF1B4&s=24247294&se=576652248&v=1&f=%5C1953.129det01_o2.jpg

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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=952853CF3DB198BB3818F6BBF63C1A9E5D8B5A557D8DD02C3E7F6B78B6F6F2ED&s=24247294&se=576652248&v=1&f=%5C1953.129det03_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=952853CF3DB198BB678D2464DB2A7CF63CC6136C209EEA758D849B9F1726EAA0&s=24247294&se=576652248&v=1&f=%5C1953.129det04_o2.jpg

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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=B27200AABD790AB6134A7945160D6ECDD5DA9F79D97F157725A90B017D578CD0&s=24247294&se=576652248&v=1&f=%5C1953.129det10_o2.jpg

Additional Views

Embroidered Tondo from an Altar Frontal: The Coronation of the Virgin

1459

Italy, Florence

Embroidery with gold, silver, and silk thread; split, satin, and couching stitches, or nué (shaded gold)

Overall: 57.8 x 57.8 cm (22 3/4 x 22 3/4 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1953.129

Location

not on view

Description

This masterpiece of Florentine embroidery takes the circular form called a tondo and was likely once attached to an altar frontal. The scene depicts the coronation of the Virgin, the final and culminating event in the narrative cycle of her life. Honoring her as queen of heaven, Christ places the crown on his mother’s head. They are surrounded by eight angels as well as Saints Verdiana and John Gualberto, both much esteemed in Florence, creating a joyous scene. During the Renaissance, Florence emerged as an important center for a specific type of embroidery known as or nué, or shaded gold. This stunning technique used metal and silk threads, as seen here, to create pictures that rivaled paintings. It was frequently used for vestments and altar frontals.

Inscriptions

Inscription

the embroidery is backed by an old reused parchment with Latin writing over which in Italian is penned an inscription: "This pallioto was embroidered in the year 1486 by the venerable Margherita del Caccia nun of this monastery. . ." [It is difficult to know to what extent one should rely on this inscription as the style and technique both point clearly to an earlier date.]

Provenance

-1953

(Erich Lederer, Geneva, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art).

1953-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain). Exhibition of Italian Art, 1200-1900. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1930. p. 433, no. 952

Shepherd, Dorothy G. "A Fifteenth-Century Florentine Embroidery." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 41, no. 10 (1954): 211-13. p. 211-213 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 223 archive.org

Detroit Institute of Arts, and Paul L. Grigaut. Decorative Arts of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1600; The Detroit Institute of Arts [Exhibition] November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959. 1958. no. 181, p. 80, 86

Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, Md.). The International Style: The Arts in Europe Around 1400; [Exhibition]: October 23-December 2, 1962, / B. [Baltimore, Md.]: Walters Art Gallery, 1962. p. 150-1, no. 159, pl. CXXIV

"Gothic Art 1360-1440." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 7 (1963): 174-215. p. 215, no. 104 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 61 archive.org

Degenhart, Bernhard, Annegrit Schmitt, Hans-Joachim Eberhardt, and Susanne Wagini. Corpus der italienischen Zeichnungen, 1300-1450. 1968. fig. 565a, p. 422

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 61 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 68 archive.org

Martin Nagy, Rebecca. Textiles in Daily Life in the Middle Ages. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1985. p. 20-21, 29, 58

Sframeli, Maria. “‘Ricamato Da Mano Angelica’ : Un' Attribuzione Settecentesca Per L'incoronazione Della Vergine Di Paolo Schiavo.” Arte Cristiana / a Cura Della Scuola Beato Angelico E Dell'istituto Di Storia Dell'arte Dell'università Cattolica, Associata Al Centro D'azione Liturgica E All'unione Della Stampa Periodica Italiana N.s. 83.1995, (1995). p. 323-331

"Current Exhibitions" Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 43 no. 10, December 2003 Reproduced: p. 2 archive.org

Exhibition history

Exhibition of Italian Art 1200-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (1930).

Kleinkunst der italienischen Frührenaissance, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (1936).

Types of Musical Instruments, The University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (Fall 1956).

Decorative Arts of the Italian Renaissance 1400-1600, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959).

The International Style, The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD (October 23-December 30, 1962).

Gallery 216 Installation, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 1991).

The International Style: The Arts in Europe around 1400. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 23-December 2, 1962).

Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).

Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).

Textiles in Daily Life in the Middle Ages. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 22-March 17, 1985).

Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).

Draped in Splendor: Renaissance Textiles and the Church. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2003-September 26, 2004).

Renaissance Textiles (Textile Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 14, 2012-December 10, 2013).

Liturgical Textiles and Manuscripts from Medieval and Early Renaissance Italy (Manuscript and Textile Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 5, 2018-December 2, 2019).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Embroidered Tondo from an Altar Frontal: The Coronation of the Virgin|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1953.129|year=1459|access-date=01 June 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Embroidered Tondo from an Altar Frontal: The Coronation of the Virgin

Embroidered Tondo from an Altar Frontal: The Coronation of the Virgin

Italy, Florence

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