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

Virgin and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels

c. 1430
Tempera on panel, 37 x 28 cm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

Here Angelico shows an increasing command of space and an equal interest in its depiction. He has added a carefully rendered, elegant throne raised over three steps, which fills the greater part of the panel and produces a bold spatial statement. Its top takes the form of a hexagonal cupola, but this still has chiefly pointed arches and cannot be said to represent the architectural avant-garde of the time. Compared with his later depictions of architecture it lacks monumentality. There is no attempt to extend the picture space into the far distance or to heighten the realism further, as the background of the panel is rendered in plain gold in the trecento fashion.