The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

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

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

1459
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.
  • -1953
    (Erich Lederer, Geneva, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art).
    1953-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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 25141997
    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
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    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
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  • 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).
    Renaissance Textiles (Textile Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 14, 2012-December 10, 2013).
    Draped in Splendor: Renaissance Textiles and the Church. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2003-September 26, 2004).
    Gallery 216 Installation, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 1991).
    Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).
    Textiles in Daily Life in the Middle Ages. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 22-March 17, 1985).
    Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
    Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
    The International Style: The Arts in Europe around 1400. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 23-December 2, 1962).
    The International Style, The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD (October 23-December 30, 1962).
    Decorative Arts of the Italian Renaissance 1400-1600, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959).
    Types of Musical Instruments, The University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (Fall 1956).
    Kleinkunst der italienischen Frührenaissance, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (1936).
    Exhibition of Italian Art 1200-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (1930).
  • {{cite web|title=Embroidered Tondo from an Altar Frontal: The Coronation of the Virgin|url=false|author=|year=1459|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1953.129