• Author: Bernardo Daddi
• Date: 1340 - 1345
• Collection: PAINTING
• Technique: Tempera and gold on wood panel
• Dimensions: 188,5x270 cm (with frame)
• Inventory: Inv. 1890 n. 3449

The polyptych has five compartments and depicts the scene of the Coronation of the Virgin in the presence of a host of saints (a total of fifty-six). It probably decorated an altar in the tramezzo, since destroyed, of Santa Maria Novella dedicated to Saint Peter Martyr, as the prominent position in the painting of the Dominican saint, in the foreground to the right of the Virgin, would seem to suggest.

The work is a masterpiece reflecting the maturity of Bernardo Daddi, a pupil of Giotto and head of a very active workshop between the third and fifth decade of the 14th century.

The painter here continues the theme of spatial unification in the lateral compartments, following the example of Giotto’s Baroncelli polyptych (Florence, Basilica of Santa Croce, 1328). The absence of spatial references is typical of the artist, suggested only by the large sizes of the characters that occupy and. in some way, lends dimension to the surrounding space. The painting is also appreciated for the profusion of decorative elements embellishing the garments and the variety of the imaginative portrayal of the haloes.

Upper trefoil: Blessing Christ
Upper multifoils: Four Cherubs