Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel]

Agnolo Gaddi

A woman sitting on a throne supports a baby as twelve winged angels look on, all framed in a carved, gilded pointed arch in this vertical panel. It is the center of a three-panel triptych. The background behind all the people is gold, and the top of the panel comes to a rounded, pointed arch under a second taller, sharper point. Trios of spiraling columns frame the left and right sides. The woman, child, and angels all have pale skin tinged faintly with green, and rosy cheeks. They all have blond hair except for the woman, whose hair is covered, and all have plate-like gold halos that overlap, sometimes obscuring the bodies of others. The woman, Mary, faces us from her ivory-white, carved stone throne. She looks slightly above us with brown eyes under delicate brows. She has a small, straight nose, and her narrow pink lips are closed. The lapis-blue robe that covers her head and body is bordered with gold patterns, and has a starburst on her right shoulder, to our left. The pea-green underside of the mantle is visible where it turns over on the sleeves and down the front, and the robe is worn over an ivory-white dress patterned with gold. The child she holds with both hands, Jesus, stands on her lap and wraps one arm around her neck. His other hand grips the high neckline of her dress. He looks up with dark, close-set eyes. He has curly blond hair, a double chin, and rounded cheeks. Two tiny teeth are barely visible below his pink upper lip. Despite the rounded cheeks, his face looks more like that of an adult, and the proportions of his body are also adult-like. He wears a gold-trimmed, pale pink robe over a blue garment, which stops just short of his bare feet. The twelve angels surrounding the throne are grouped in trios, with three looking on to our upper left, three to our upper right, and then two trios gathered in each lower corner. Their wings and robes are painted in tones of celery green, ruby red, butter yellow, and pale rose pink. Each has a triangular diadem above their foreheads. The floor beneath is patterned with gold against a burgundy-red background. Above Mary and Jesus, a bearded man is shown from the chest up in a shape made of three lobes alternating with three points. That man faces us and holds up his right hand, to our left, with the first two fingers raised. He wears a shell-pink garment under a green robe, and holds up an open book with Latin text with his other hand. The frame around Mary, Jesus, and the gable above is carved and gilded. Barely discernable, the panel is inscribed across the bottom below the throne, “AVE MARIA GRATIA PNELA DOMINUS.” The pages of the books read, “EGO SUM A O PRINCI PIU FINIS EGO SUM VI A. VERITAS VITA.”