The Coronation of the Virgin

The Master of the Once Mil Vírgenes painted this Coronation of the Virgin around 1490 for a Spanish retablo. The Coronation, showing Christ or the Trinity crowning the Virgin as Queen of Heaven, was one of the most popular subjects in late medieval art. This anonymous Castilian master worked in the Hispano-Flemish style that dominated Spanish painting before the full impact of Italian Renaissance art.

Oil on panel with elaborate gold-ground treatment in the Spanish retablo tradition. The celestial scene combines Netherlandish detail with the rich coloring characteristic of Castilian altarpiece painting.