Gentile da Fabriano: Coronation of the Virgin

Located at The Getty Museum in Malibu, California, this work by Gentile painted for his native town, Fabriano in the Marches, probably for a confraternity associated with the church of San Francesco. Originally the panel was double-sided and served as a processional standard held aloft in parades that honored the Virgin Mary. Sometime prior to 1827, the panel was sawn down the middle to create two paintings; the reverse, depicting the Stigmatization of Saint Francis is now in the collection of the Fondazione Magnani-Rocca, Parma, Italy.