Gherardo Starnina: Head of an Angel, Gherardo Starnina, 1404–1406, Tempera and gold on panel, This small panel by the Florentine painter Gherardo Starnina is a fragment of a much larger altarpiece featuring the Virgin and Child surrounded by angels and saints. The blue shapes along the panel's right side are recognizable as a cloud and the edge of a mandorla – an almond-shaped body halo – which usually enveloped the Virgin Mary in the art of late medieval Italy. The altarpiece was commissioned by Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli (d. 1408) a chapel in the Galluzzo monastery just outside of Florence. Founded in 1341, the Galluzo monastery was a bastion of humanistic learning and rich in artistic treasures until its destruction in the nineteenth century., Overall: 6 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (17.1 x 16.5 cm)
Keywords:
Gherardo Starnina, Head, Angel, 1404–1406, Tempera, gold, panel, small panel, Florentine painter, fragment, larger altarpiece, Virgin, Child, surrounded, angels, saints, blue shapes, panel's right side, recognizable, cloud, edge, mandorla, almond-shaped body halo, enveloped, Virgin Mary, art, late medieval Italy, altarpiece, commissioned, Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli, d. 1408, chapel, Galluzzo monastery, outside, Florence, Founded, 1341, Galluzo monastery, bastion, humanistic learning, rich, artistic treasures, destruction, nineteenth century
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