ANGELICO, Fra
(b. ca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455, Roma)

Coronation of the Virgin (detail)

1434-35
Tempera on panel
Musée du Louvre, Paris

St Catherine of Alexandria stands holding her wheel and regarding St Agnes, who clutches her own symbol, a lamb. St Agnes's robe falls in heavy sculptured loops to the ground. The haloes of the two saints are carefully arranged so that St Catherine's face is not obscured. The haloes in this painting are treated very flatly but in some cases also extremely decoratively, being studded with gems.