Virgin and Child Crowned by Angels
c. 1490
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
151.9 × 88.6 cm (59 13/16 × 34 7/8 in.); Framed: 179.8 × 117.2 × 16.6 cm (70 3/4 × 46 1/8 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on panel
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16257
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The gold text on the bottom edge of the Virgin Mary’s red mantle translates as “Hail, Queen of the heavens, Mother of the king of angels.” These lines, from a hymn called a Marian antiphon, were famously set to music as a choral composition in the 15th century. This kind of polyphonic music, requiring multiple trained voices employed at great expense, was associated with the extravagant culture of the Brussels court. Its evocation here, like the bejeweled crown lowered onto Mary’s head, serves t...