Christ in Majesty with Twelve Apostles

c. 1320

Workshop of Pacino di Bonaguida

Associated Names
Pacino di Bonaguida

Related Artist, Florentine, active 1302 - c. 1340

This is a painting of a scene with a central man surrounded by twelve other people, all with golden halos. The central man is at the top of the painting, seated within a pointed blue oval shape outlined by a gold border. This man has pale skin and long brown hair with a dark beard, and he is clad in white and green robes. He is holding a red book in his left hand and raising his right hand, his arm bent and the first two fingers of his hand lifted. There are four people on the same level as him, two on the left and two on the right, and eight additional people below him. They are all looking towards him, their hands either clasped, raised up, or crossed over their chests. These people all have golden halos and are dressed in various draped robes in hues of green, orange, pink, gray, and blue. They all have pale skin and hair in shades of brown and gray. The background of the top section is shimmering gold, while the background of the bottom section is dark blue, the two sections separated by an orange border. The border around the painting is patterned in red and green with small designs.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    miniature on vellum

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 27.7 x 20.6 cm (10 7/8 x 8 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1952.8.277

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    NGA Miniatures 1975, no. 6


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1953

  • Mediaeval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts, Los Angeles County Museum, 1953, no. 95.

1962

  • The Saints in Prints & Illuminations from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, The Art Gallery of the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 1962-1963, no. 12.

1965

  • Notre Dame Art Gallery, Notre Dame, IN, 1965, no cat.

1971

  • A Selection of X-Xv Century Medieval Miniatures from the National Gallery of Art Rosenwald Collection, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, 1971, no. 19.

1975

  • Medieval and Renaissance Miniatures from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1975, no. 6, repro.

1994

  • Painting and Illumination in Early Renaissance Florence 1300-1450, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1994-1995, no. 4a.

2009

  • Heaven on Earth: Manuscript Illuminations from the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 2009.

2012

  • Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance: Painting and Illumination, 1300-1350, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2012 - 2013.

Bibliography

1975

  • National Gallery of Art. Medieval and Renaissance Miniatures from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1975: no. 6.

Wikidata ID

Q64640585

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