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Central panel (157 x 180 cm): Coronation of the Virgin; side panels (117 x 40 cm each): St Jerome, St Francis, St Dominic, Mary Magdalene; upper panels, whose sequence has not been definitively reconstructed (49 x 38 cm each): St John the Baptist in the Desert, The Execution of St Peter Martyr, St Thomas Aquinas, St Francis Receiving the Stigmata.
This polyptych was executed for the convent of Valle Romita at Fabriano around 1400. A familiarity with late fourteenth-century Lombard miniatures and graphic work undoubtedly was an important element in Gentile da Fabriano's training, as is indicated by the clear affinities between his work and that of Michelino da Besozzo. He was also influenced by masters of mixed tendencies, such as Barnaba da Modena and Taddeo di Bartolo, and more incisively by Venetian and Tuscan art.
In the central panel the Virgin is shown being crowned by Christ, in the presence of God the Father and the Holy Ghost. The refined and delicate composition is made up of the three weightless figures — which seem to be disembodied in their draperies — and insubstantial elements, such as the radiant and flaming nimbus that supports the apparition of the Trinity. Curved forms — including the band of angel musicians, the contours of the figures of Christ and the Virgin, and the crowd of seraphim around God the Father — echo the arched shape of the panel.
In the side panels the bodies of the saints also disappear within the fluid coils of their robes. There is a highly refined play of colour variations among the four figures. The red, white and gold robe of St Jerome and the pink and violet costume of Mary Magdalene contrast with the more sober brown of St Francis' habit and the black of St Dominic's mantle. St Francis' bare feet, an attribute of his iconography, are almost disconnected from the figure. The feet of the other figures remain invisible, hidden by their robes and the thick carpet of flowers.
Indifference to the rendering of space and to the relative sizes of figures can also be seen in the smaller panels of the altarpiece. St John the Baptist and St Francis, shown kneeling in profile, are squeezed in among rocky peaks without regard to realistic proportions. Similarly, St Thomas is placed in a narrow garden, hemmed in by the wall and the door which emphasize the atmosphere of private meditation. St Peter's martyrdom, which is not very sanguinary despite the flow of blood, creates an impact by being brought forward toward the spectator.
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