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Observations on the Coronation of the Virgin Attributed to Guido Da Siena in the CourtauldInstitute Gallery, LondonAuthor(s): Caroline Villers and Astrid LehnerReviewed work(s):Source: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 65. Bd., H. 3 (2002), pp. 289-302Published by: Deutscher Kunstverlag GmbH Munchen BerlinStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4150705 .Accessed: 21/09/2012 15:43

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CAROLINE VILLERS AND ASTRID LEHNER

Observations on the Coronation of the Virgin attributed to Guido Da Siena

in the Courtauld Institute Gallery, London

i. Attributed to Guido da Siena, Coronation of the Virgin. Egg tempera, oil on panel, last quarter of the thirteenth century. London, Courtauld Institute Gallery

The Coronation of the Virgin is a fragment of a

larger thirteenth century painting. Since its be-

quest to the University of London, 1947, and

display in the Courtauld Institute Gallery, 1958, the panel has attracted interest and speculation (figs. 1-2).' Attributed to the circle of Guido da Siena it has been published as the earliest exam-

ple of the import of the Coronation iconography into Italy, innovative in incorporating the text of the Office of the Assumption. Presumably a

gable, it has been variously reconstructed as part of an altarpiece. Yet, stylistic, iconographic and

documentary research have not yet led to real

understanding. The present study adopts the

approach of investigating the physical history of the painting as a means of discovering the way in which the painting may have changed over seven

hundred years. In the process, previous assump- tions are challenged and, it is hoped, a better basis for further study is provided. The technical examination on which this paper is based was

prompted by an exhibition to be held at the Lin- denau-Museum, Altenburg in 2oo001. According to the terms of the bequest to the Courtauld Institute Gallery the Coronation of the Virgin is not available for exhibition outside London. The

question of reconstruction will be left to a com-

prehensive discussion in the forthcoming cata-

logue.3 On 14th July 1933, the Italian dealer Luigi

Albrighi wrote to Lord Lee of Fareham describ-

ing a visit to the house of an elderly, aristocratic woman in Florence where he had discovered a wonderful painting by Filippo Lippi. In a post-

I Catalogue of the Lee Collection, London 1962, 26; General Catalogue of the Courtauld Institute Galle- ries, London 197o, No. 14, 7. This study in based on Astrid Lehner, Guido da Siena, investigations into Ducento technique and iconography, Final year thesis, Department of Conservation and Technology, Cour- tauld Institute of Art, London 1999/2000ooo. See also Elizabeth G. Miller, The thirteenth century Coronation of the Virgin in the Courtauld Institute Gallery, M.A. thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, London 1972.

2 G. Coor-Achenbach, The earliest Italian representation of the Coronation of the Virgin, in: The Burlington Magazine, XCIX, 1957, 328-330.

3 Exhibition April - August 2ooi Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg. We are very grateful to the Lindenau- Museum for allowing us to sample their paintings and to Barbara John and Holger Manzke for many inte- resting discussions. B. John, Guido da Siena's Misteri di Gesu Cristo, forthcoming publication. Since this paper was terminated 2000 see also Claritas, Das Hauptaltarbild im Dom zu Siena nach i260. Die Re- konstruktion, Lindenau-Museum Altenburg 2001; V. M. Schmidt, Thirteenth century panel paintings from Siena, in: The Burlington Magazine, CXLIII, August 200oo, 5 12-514.

ZEITSCHRIFT FOR KUNSTGESCHICHTE 65. Band/ 2002 289

2. Attributed to Guido da Siena, Coronation of the Virgin (Detail). Egg tempera, oil on panel, last quarter of the thirteenth century. London, Courtauld Institute Gallery

script he added >dans la maison du Lippi il y a aussi un fragment de 15o x 40 d'un grand pala de Guido da Siena representant au c68t deux anges avec l'&cusson Brandifoglio au centre la Couron- nement de la Vierge. Voila un piece tres impor- tant qui on pourrait avoir je pense entre

50-6o,ooo livres italiens.<< Lord Lee purchased the painting.4

Coor-Achenbach first emphasised the association between the Coronation of the Virgin and the Christological cycle, which has an original

provenance from the Badia Ardenga near Mon-

talcino, although, like Stubblebine and Oertel, she did not believe that they belonged to a single altarpiece.' An argument that attempted to estab- lish a direct connection was proposed by Ziemke who drew attention to the significance of trac-

ings by the antiquarian J. A. Ramboux of Co-

logne probably made 1833-1I842 (figs. 3-4). In these tracings, the Coronation of the Virgin and the Christological cycle are numbered consecu-

tively suggesting that they may have been in the

4 Lord Lee of Fareham's papers, Letter I4th July 1933, Courtauld Institute of Art Archive. The painting is also referred to in correspondence 3rd August, 17th September, 23rd October, 29th December 1933. In the letter of 3rd August, Albrighi says Berenson supports the attribution, but the first correspondence with Lee antedates Berenson's receipt of a photograph (I7th July

1933) so Berenson may not have originated the attribution.

5 J. H. Stubblebine, An altarpiece by Guido da Siena, in: The Art Bulletin, I2, 1959, 260-268. R. Oertel, Friihe Italienische Malerei in Altenburg, Berlin i96i, 60-67. See also J. H. Stubblebine, Guido da Siena, Princeton 1964, 43-60, 81-84.

290 ZEITSCHRIFT FOR KUNSTGESCHICHTE 65. Band / 2002

3. J. H. Ramboux's tracing of the Coronation of the Virgin. 1833-1842. Frankfurt a. M., Staidelsches Kunstinstitut

same place at that time. Ramboux bought three of the scenes, the Nativity, the Presentation in the Temple (Musee du Louvre, Paris), and the

Mounting of the Cross (Museum Catharijne Convent, Utrecht), and according to E. Braun, who organised the purchase of another three scenes for the Lindenau-Museum Altenburg, Ramboux bought the picture (das Bild) - im-

plying intact painting, possibly altarpiece - to which the scenes belonged.7 The association between the Coronation of the Virgin and one scene of the Christological cycle, The Mounting of the Cross, was reconsidered in 1979 by Lon

Schr6der.8 More recently, Bellosi has followed van Os in proposing that the Coronation of the

Virgin belonged to a double-sided altarpiece on the high altar of Siena cathedral that may also have incorporated the Madonna del Voto frag-

6 H. J. Ziemke, Ramboux und die sienesische Kunst, in:

StiidelJahrbuch, N.FE 2, 1969, 255-300. 7 A. Proksch, Bernard Aug. Freiherr von Lindenau als

Kunstfreund. Ein Beitrag zu seiner Biographie, Alten- burg I899, 74. Barbara John kindly provided this re- ference and a copy of the text.

8 The Early Sienese Paintings in Holland, ed. by H. W. van Os, J. R. J. van Asperen de Boer, C. E. de Jong- Janssen, C. Wiethoff, The Hague 1989, 87-90.

4. J. H. Ramboux's tracing of the Angels from the Coronation of the Virgin. 1833-1842.

Frankfurt a.M, Stidelsches Kunstinstitut

ZEITSCHRIFT FOR KUNSTGESCHIcHTE 6.Band /2oo002 291

5. Schematic diagram of the campaign of restoration carried out after c. 1859. Only areas of complete loss and subsequent restoration are shown. (Diagram: Astrid Lehner)

ment.9 In this proposal, a scene from the death and glorification of the Virgin would have been below the Coronation of the Virgin, as it may have been in the Maesta itself and is in the stained glass window by Duccio in the Cathedral. Such an association of scenes became embedded in Siena's ideology after the battle of Montaperti in 126o.

The attribution to Guido da Siena proposed in

Albrighi's letter has tended to persist, although this portmanteau name hardly signifies a single coherent artistic personality and the Coronation

of the Virgin cannot be closely compared in style or quality with the core work, the S. Domenico Madonna, where the name Guido de Senis makes its only appearance in a fourteenth century inscription. Albrighi also reported that the coat of arms belonged to the Brandifoglio family; Ludwin Paardekooper has kindly identified the coat of arms for us as the arms of the Tuti

family.Io Several members of the Tuti family were

very active in Sienese public life in the sixteenth

century, although apparently not earlier. It seems

likely that Albrighi was simply improvising in order to achieve a sale, and we should treat his account of the other paintings in the Florentine

house and the family's villa between Arezzo and Siena with equal scepticism."

The Courtauld Coronation of the Virgin has attracted most attention by virtue of its iconography. This was first discussed by Coor-Achenbach, who pointed out that it was the earliest example of the Coronation scene in Italian art, radically innovative in including the text >Veni electa mea et ponam in te thronum coro<< from the Office of the Assumption of the Virgin, and as such providing the model for Jacopo Torriti's mosaic in S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, dated

I295.I2 The only other Coronation of the Virgin in thirteenth cen-

tury Sienese art is Duccio's stained glass window

I287/i288. In the early I29o's, Cimabue depicted

the Christ and the Virgin enthroned in fresco in the choir of the upper church of S. Francesco, Assisi. The relationship between the schemes by Duccio, Cimabue, and Torriti is unclear, but the Courtauld Coronation of the Virgin can no longer be regarded as having been responsible for intro-

ducing the text from the Office of the Assump- tion or providing a model for Torriti's mosaic. In Rome, this text is already found in use in the twelfth century in the apse mosaic of Christ and the Virgin enthroned in S. Maria in Trastevere.

9 L. Bellosi, Per un contesto cimabuesco senese: Guido da Siene e il probabile Dietisalvi di Spemi, in: Prospettiva, 61, 1991, 6-2zo; H. W. van Os, Sienese Altarpieces z125- 1460. Form, content, function, Groningen i984, 17-18.

io Le Biccherne Tavole Dipinte delle Magistrature Senesi (Secoli XIII-XVIII), ed. by L. Borgia, E. Carli, M. A. Ceppari, U. Morandi, P. Sinibaldi, C. Zarilli, Rome 1984, No. 118, 276-277; No. 123, 286-287, 369-370;

I Libri dei Leoni, la Nobilta di Siena in eta Medicea

(1557-1737), ed. by M. Ascheri, Monte dei Paschi, Siena 1996, 306. We are indebted to Ludwin Paarde- kooper for his generous help.

i i Lord Lee of Fareham's papers, Letters I4th July, 3rd August 1933 (as note 4).

I2 Coor-Achenbach (as note 2). 13 Cross-sections, examination in infra-red reflectogra-


The present examination of the >>Coronation of the Virgin<< has established that the Tuti arms were added over the original mandorla after 1704 and are associated with a reuse of the already fragmentary panel; by 1833-1842 when Ram- boux found the painting it was in a badly damaged state.

Ramboux's tracings provide an accurate record of the condition of the Courtauld >Coronation of the Virgin<< in 1833- 1842, and the only fixed

point against which to calibrate change. Sur-

prisingly this has not been appreciated before, because discussion has been clouded by the re- ceived idea that the Coronation of the Virgin is in

very good condition. This is not the case and has fundamental implications for the iconography and dating. The extent of the restoration is clear-

ly visible in the x-radiograph, infra-red reflecto-

graphy, and ultra-violet fluorescence, and corre-

sponds almost precisely with the degree of loss recorded in Ramboux's tracings (fig. 5). The restoration includes the majority of the figure of Christ, his proper left arm and hand with the book and text, the feet of both figures, the entire footstool, and the lower parts of the right hand side of the throne architecture. The iconography, the architecture of the throne, and spatial rela-

tionships have all been discussed as indicators of

dating and attribution, and it must now be recognised that, being later reconstructions with no

guiding or original paint beneath, they cannot be used in this way (fig. 6).j3 Rather than providing a prototype for the Torriti mosaic the Courtauld Coronation of the Virgin in its present state sure-

ly depends on it for the text, footstool, and also the Virgin's crown. Little can be said about the

original iconography of the Courtauld painting since Christ's left arm may have held a book or have been raised in a gesture. After Duccio's stained glass window Christ tends to be depicted, with greater narrative clarity, placing the

6. Attributed to Guido da Siena, Coronation of the Virgin (Detail).

London, Courtauld Institute Gallery

crown on the Virgin's head using both hands. The original crown that Ramboux traced, now

entirely repainted, was similar to those depicted in the Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew on the

Reliquary Shutters (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena) and in the Adoration of the Magi (Lindenau- Museum, Altenburg).

The Coronation of the Virgin must have been

badly mistreated or long neglected to have suffered such a catastrophic degree of loss, as is recorded in Ramboux's tracing. Between

1833-1842 and the restoration described above still more fragments were lost from the right hand side of the panel.14 The restoration is skill- ful, which is why it has eluded detection, and

phy and with x-radiography indicated that no original paint survives in these areas. The Virgin's crown is repainted over an original version that survives.

14 After Ramboux traced the Coronation of the Virgin

still more paint was lost, especially on the right hand side of the throne and coat of arms. In the tracing the right hand throne finial is closer to the centre and not symmetrical with the left finial. This slight displace-

ZEITSCHRIFT FOR KUNSTGESCHICHTE 65. Band/ 2002 293

very distinctive in method. A pale underpaint incorporating machine ground pigments was toned with a dark transparent patination layer that has wrinkled and cracked in a convincing simulation of ageing. It has been suggested that Ramboux himself restored the paintings that he

bought. The restoration of the Coronation of the Virgin postdates the manufacture of the pigment Viridian in the I85os'5, and interestingly this could also place the work later than the arrival of all the Christological narrative scenes in private or public collections.'" Considering the association with the Christological cycle, the evidence of a painted frame, discussed further below, strongly suggests that when Ramboux found the Coronation of the Virgin it had already been cut out of its original ensemble, so Braun's

catalogue entry must be open to re-interpretation. The same should be said for the argument proposed by Ziemke. Although Ramboux numbered the three tracings of the Coronation of the

Virgin and the Christological narrative scenes

consecutively, he did so when he assembled his album of tracings on return to Cologne; the

group is both preceded and followed by tracings from a single, still intact painting, the St. Peter Dossal.'7

With a clearer understanding of the condition of the Coronation of the Virgin in 1833-1842 it is possible to try to evaluate the physical evidence for its history prior to that date. The Tuti coat of arms have long been recognised as non-

original and this assumption was confirmed by

pigment analysis which indicated that the arms were painted between 1704 and 1833-

•842 when

Ramboux traced them (fig. 7).18 The coat of arms and a blue border all around the present per- imeter of the painting, excluding the lost apex, were both painted at the same time, using first a

paint layer incorporating prussian blue and then a layer of azurite. Prussian blue was discovered in 1704 and has not been found in use prior to the 1720s.'9

The blue border now only survives in small areas, but it once constituted a new painted >frame<< for the Coronation of the Virgin. This

framing band runs across the angels and the mandorla suggesting that by this time the panel had already been cut at that level and the blue border was added in order to make visual sense of the truncated image that had no logical ter- minus. Where the blue border covered the pink robe of the angel on the left, it remained in place long enough to inhibit fading of the red lake pigment beneath.2o Despite the hypothesis that by the time the Coronation of the Virgin was re- modelled for the Tuti family it must have been an

independent panel with its current dimensions, it is likely that it was in some way associated with the Christological cycle, because the border of The Flight into Egypt (Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg) displays the same unusual paint se-

quence: prussian blue beneath a layer of azurite.2 The same sample also revealed that at some

stage there was silver leaf over red bole beneath the blue layers.

ment could have indicated foreshortening and re- cession. The seat could have then terminated with a straight vertical line rather than the present diago- nal.

15 Viridian, hydrated chromium oxide green, has been identified in a painting of 1840 by J. M. W. Turner, however until 1859, when Guignet patented a method for manufacture, it was extremely expensive. R. New- man, Chromium oxide greens, in: Artists' Pigments, A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Vol. 3, ed. by E. W. Fitzhugh, Washington 1997, 273-293.

16 The panels were dispersed in the nineteenth century. Stubblebine 1964 (as note 5), 43-60. Five panels were deposited in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena in

1848; three purchased for Altenburg in I85o; Ram- boux purchased three by 1842. The Annunciation was purchased by Princeton in 1924 from A. L. Fro- thingham, who presumably acquired it some time earlier.

17 Ziemke (as note 6). The St.Peter Dossal was at that time in the Church of S. Pietro in Banchi. The num- bering of the tracings of the St. Peter Dossal were kindly communicated by Martin Sonnabend from the Stdidelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt a. M.

18 Pigment analysis and identification was carried out together with Aviva Burnstock and Helen Howard, Courtauld Institute of Art, using polarising light microscopy, cross-sections, and elemental analysis (SEM-EDX). The presence of prussian blue was con-


7. Attributed to Guido da Siena, Coronation of the Virgin (Detail): the coat of arms of the Tuti family

Having distinguished the original from the

non-original, it is possible to consider what evidence can be recovered about the making of the

painting and how this can throw light on its

interpretation. The Coronation of the Virgin was undoubted-

ly part of a gable. This is supported by its com-

position and comparison with surviving Sienese

gables.2 It is a low triangular shape with the tip of the triangle missing and measures 33.7 X

166.6 cm. It is constructed from two tangentially cut poplar planks, the grain running horizontally. The thickness of the planks varies between

3.0-3.5 cm and the top margin is the original edge of a plank 22.6cm wide. Presumably the

joint failed and the top plank, the apex, was lost

(fig. 8). Along the original edge there are regular- ly spaced score marks and cavities drilled for dowels. Two dowels are visible on the x-radio-

graph and there are fragments of a third behind

firmed by polarising light microscopy and SEM-EDX by Helen Howard.

19 Prussian blue was discovered in I704 and rapidly adopted as an artists' pigment. The earliest identifica- tions are in the i720s in Italy in works by Canaletto 1719-1723. B. H. Berrie, Prussian Blue, in: Artists' Pigments (as note 15), 19g-217.

20 This implies that the colour change occurred in the eighteenth century, although the rate of fading for red lake pigments is greatest in the early stages. For a similar case where the red lake was protected by framing see G. Hedley and C. Villers, Evaluating colour change, intention, interpretation and lighting, in: Measured Opinions, ed. by C. Villers, London 1993, 145-148. Also, D. Saunders, J. Kirby, Light

induced colour changes in red and yellow lake pigments, in: National Gallery Technical Bulletin, iy, 1994, 178-189.

21 The Flight into Egypt, Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg, cross-section C.S. 7/4.

22 Other Guidoesque gables include Christ Blessing, S. Domenico Siena, the Crucifixion, Yale University Art Gallery and the ruined gable to the Virgin and Child, Galleria del Palazzo Communale, San Gimi- gnano. See Stubblebine 1964 (as note 5), 42-43, 91, 107-109, and Miller (as note i) for an attempt to compare the structures. Too little information is available for this to be conclusive. We are indebted to Mark Aranson for providing us with an x-radiograph of the Yale Crucifixion and for answering many questions.

ZEITSCHRIFT FOR KUNSTGESCHICHTE 65. Band / 2002 295

8. The reverse of the Coronation of the Virgin

9. The reverse of the Coronation of the Virgin in raking light

the right hand moulding. The composite panel was roughly levelled after joining and tool marks are clearly visible on the reverse running contin-

uously across the join (fig. 9). It was subsequent- ly cut to the requisite size and the entire structure strengthened by nailing on vertical battens. The reverse was protected by a coating of red lead paint. The

,shadow<< of a single vertical bat-

ten and three nail holes are all that survive. These construction methods were in common use, sur-

viving into the fourteenth century, and from them it can be deduced that the Coronation of the Virgin was once part of a broad horizontal structure, since grain direction always follows the maximum dimension. A tall panel with an

upright format would be made from vertically aligned planks as in the case of the S. Domenico

Madonna.23 The red lead coating and the batten

on the reverse also make it clear that the Coro- nation of the Virgin< was not originally part of a double-sided structure. Red lead also covers the back of the three panels, now in Utrecht and

Paris, that once belonged to Ramboux.24 It was once again Coor-Achenbach who rea-

sonably suggested using the shape of the mandorla to reconstruct the original dimensions of the panel. This was also discussed in 1972 by Miller.'5 Of the various geometric systems for

constructing the shape, the two point method, in which the width of the radius equals the width of the mandorla, was used in the Lenten Hanging attributed to the circle of Guido da Siena (Pina- coteca Nazionale, Siena), in Duccio's stained

glass window (Siena Cathedral), and in Cima- bue's Assuption of the Virgin (S. Francesco, As-

sisi). A mandorla reconstructed using that two

23 We are very grateful to Marco Ciatti, Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro, Florence, for providing us with information and advice. The car- pentry of the S.Domenico gable is not known. Judg- ing from photographs of the front, vertical lines of damage do suggest vertically aligned planks.

24 Van Os (as note 8), 88.

25 Coor-Achenbach (as note 2); Miller (as note I), 20, 22,

28-33. Other systems for constructing a mandorla use three points, where the radius equals two thirds of the width of the mandorla; five points, where the radius equals five eighths of the width of the mandorla. There is no internal evidence for whether a half or a full mandorla might have been painted originally.

296 ZEITSCHRIFT FOR KUNSTGESCHIcHTE 65. Band / 2002

io. Schematic reconstruction of the original panel using a two point geometric system to draw the mandorla. (Diagram: Astrid Lehner)

1 . The Coronation of the Virgin as displayed until the early i980s with a reconstructed apex and surrounding frame

point method would require a panel with a maximum width of 196 cm and sloping sides rising at an angle of 37.50 to accommodate it (fig. Io). This dimension happens to be the same as that of the S. Domenico gable Christ Blessing, and the angle of inclination would be the same as that of the Yale Crucifixion and the S. Domenico gable. The

height of the panel and the positioning of the roll

mouldings would then be governed by the har- monious ratio of the Golden Section which was

commonly used to guide altarpiece construction

and architecture. Only the moulding on the left is original and the simple profile is comparable with the mouldings of Polyptych No. 7, Pinaco- teca Nazionale, Siena which is universally attributed to Guido. It must be all that remains of a

probably trefoil arch that fitted comfortably within the mandorla. The painting was displayed with a reconstructed apex and arch until the

early I980s (fig. 1 i). The trefoil arch is often used in paintings from the Guido da Siena group after

1270, for example Polyptych No.7, the Galli-


Dunn Virgin and Child and the St. Peter Dossal (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena).

Returning to the process of painting, unfortu-

nately, the study of materials and technique cannot provide a blue-print for attribution and the core works attributed to Guido da Siena have yet to be studied. However, we are able to situate the Coronation of the Virgin within the broad framework of thirteenth century practice that has now been established by colleagues at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro, Flor- ence.26 In contrast to the methods codified at the

beginning of the fourteenth century by Cennini, these studies suggest a style of painting that sought to exploit richly varied, lustrous surface finishes based on the superimposition of trans-

parent or translucent materials, and juxtaposed glass, gilding, and glazes. Distinctive craft practices in the preparation of the panel ground and

gilding have been identified. The front of the wooden panel was prepared

first with strips of parchment to reinforce the joins and to ensure that movement was not transmitted in the form of cracking to the front and then with a continuous covering of linen cloth. The linen has a compact plain weave (23 X 21 yarns per cm2) and wraps around the original wooden moulding. In the x-radiograph the weave pattern undulates suggesting that the linen was soaked in glue size and laid over the panel while still wet. This has also been observed in the Yale Crucifixion.27 In the thirteenth century, the use of parchment in strips or larger sheets was quite common and it has been found on the Sarzana Crucifix, 1138, and the dossal from S.Panzano, attributed to Meliore, 1220-

1275.28 The ground is gypsum bound with ani- mal glue.

The plan for the composition was incised into the ground. The incisions define the contours and some more detailed interior features, such as

drapery folds, but not facial features. In the S. Panzano dossal, by contrast, every single detail is fully incised.29 Presumably, the incisions them- selves must have followed a preliminary drawing, rudimentary or developed, but no trace of such a

drawing was definitely identified on the Coro- nation of the Virgin. By the fourteenth century it had become more common to reinforce the preliminary drawing in black paint or ink and re- duce the use of incised lines, most often only lightly scoring the divisions between areas to be

painted and those to be gilded. Condition has led to confusion about the

decorative techniques used in the Coronation of the Virgin. The original gilding, which is in poor condition, is burnished gold leaf over a red bole, as in other contemporary works, although earlier

paintings such as the Sarzana Crucifix do not

employ a red bole layer and Vasari attributed its introduction to his fellow townsman, Margari- tone d'Arezzo. The circumferences of the haloes were inscribed using a compass, the point of which can be detected at the outer corner of Christ's left eye and the outer corner of the

Virgin's right eye. These circumferences were

stamped with a cinq-foil punch, 3 mm in diam- eter, and small holes indicate that ornaments, probably glass jewels, were pinned on at regular intervals. On Christ's halo, of which only the lower left portion is intact, there are three pin holes, and on Mary's halo two (fig. 12). Finally, a

simple dot punch was used to define the nimbus of Christ's halo. The asterisk and six-foil punch are not original. The angels' haloes are filled in with delicate, curling plant-like scrollwork,

26 M. Ciatti, Aspects of the artistic technique in Tuscan painting from XII to XIII century, in: Das Aschaffen- burger Tafelbild. Studien zur Tafelmalerei des 13.Jahrhunderts, Arbeitsheft des Bayerischen Lan- desamtes fiir Denkmalpflege, 89, Miinchen 1997, 360-387; B. Bellucci, C. Castelli, F. C. Passeri, M. Ciatti, C. Giovannini, M. Parri, P. Petreone, C. Rossi Scarzanella, A. Santacesaria, Tecniche Pittoriche del XIII secolo: II Dossale di Meliore di Jacopo in San

Leolino a Panzano, in: OPD Restauro, 2, 1990, I86- 2I I; M. Ciatti, Some Observations on Panel Painting Technique in Tuscany from the Twelfth to the Thir- teenth Century, in: Painting Techniques, History, Materials and Studio Practice, Proceedings of the I. I. C. Congress, Dublin 1998, 1-4.

27 These observations are based on the x-radiograph kindly copied for us by Mark Aranson. A comparison between the gables attributed to the circle of Gui-


inscribed freehand. The theory that the decoration of burnished gilding evolved gradually from freehand pattern to increasingly complex punch- ed designs has been challenged by Skaug.3? Paint-

ings from the circle of Guido da Siena seem to

employ both types of decoration and to alternate between the different methods. Of course, they are not necessarily by a single painter. What appears to be a similar cinq-foil punch has been identified by Skaug on the Virgin and Child in the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence. Cinq-foil punches have also been noted on the interior of the Gallerani Reliquary Shutters (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena), the Galli-Dunn Virgin and Child (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena), and the Madonna del Voto in Siena Cathedral, where two different sizes of cinq-foil punch are used.31 It has not been possible to compare the dimensions with precision. The haloes of the figures in the

Reliquary Shutters combine punch work with freehand inscribed patterns, while those of the

Christological cycle panels are not decorated at

all, arguably for reasons of scale.

During the thirteenth century the system for

modelling drapery forms depended on superim- posing light or dark passages over a uniform base colour. There was no tonal gradation, no blend-

ing, and the abundant use of mordant gilding, often substituting for highlights, contributed to the unnaturalness of the approach. It was in contrast to this that the tonal and blended modelling of the fourteenth century evolved, with the associated use of very finely hatched brushwork. The

original appearance of the Coronation of the Vir-

gin relied on light reflected from gold and jewels and resonant combinations of saturated colours. The webs of mordant gilding added lustre. In the Coronation of the Virgin the palette is vermilion,

12. Attributed to Guido da Siena, the Coronation of the Virgin (Detail).

Mary's halo

red lake on a calcium base, azurite in various

grades, ultramarine, verdigris, bright green earth, ochres, lead white and charcoal and bone black. Ultramarine is not used for the principal figures and was found only in the blue of the angels' feathers. The painter's approach can be appreciated in the handling of the robes and mantles of Christ and the Virgin, which depend on varying, but symmetrically opposed combinations of azurite, red lake and white. These three pigments are used together for the Virgin's robe and in a more saturated combination without white for

do da Siena would be instructive. The Yale Crucifix- ion has been thinned and cradled, no dowels are visible in the x-radiograph, the planks run horizontally.

28 Bellucci (as note26), i89. 29 Ibid, 9Ix-195; Ciatti I997 (as note26), 370. Coppo

di Marcoveldo's S. Maria Maggiore Madonna and Ma- donna del Casale show a degree of incision that is comparable with the Coronation of the Virgin. The Sarzana Crucifix has no incisions, only a charcoal sketch.

30 E. Skaug, Punchmarks from Giotto to Fra Angelico. Vol. I, Oslo 1994, 72-75. We are very grateful to Erling Skaug for discussing this with us.

31 Miller (as note 1), I2-I5, Appendix II. The punch marks on the Virgin and Child, Galleria dell'Acca- demia, Florence reproduced by Skaug (as note 30), fig. 95c, io6, include a cinq-foil punch, 3 mm in diam- eter.


Christ's over-mantle; reversing the relationship, the Virgin's over-mantle is predominantly azurite, this time glazed rather than mixed with red lake, while Christ's robe is azurite and white without red lake. Since the extent of the mordant

gilding precluded pale highlights, the overall

tonality is sombre. In the lateral angels, glaze- like effects are achieved by spreading translucent

paint over opaque underlayers, on the right an intense green earth over green earth and lead white, and, on the left, red lake over vermilion and white. Red lake is used in this way throughout the painting, shading the Virgin's blue robe, the vermilion cloth of honour and the ochres of the throne architecture.

The binding medium has been identified as

predominantly egg tempera, with oil,32 a partially heat-bodied linseed oil possibly with a trace of

pine resin, used in the green lining of the Virgin's mantle. These results can be compared with the results from the Crucifix attributed to the Master of S. Francesco in the National Gallery, London, where a green glaze was also found to combine oil and resin with the pigment verdigris.33 This once transparent, brightly coloured glaze would have contributed to the overall richness of effect. Linseed oil could be prepared for use by heating in order to enhance drying, increase transparency and achieve a level glossy surface; an addition of resin could improve this result. The choice of medium demonstrates a well developed under-

standing of the medium. The binding medium for the mordant was not analysed although it is

likely to be oil. The pigments in the mordant are lead white, possibly to accelerate drying, and ochre to add bulk and a yellowish colour.34 As in the case of all mordants examined by the Nation- al Gallery, London for their exhibition >Italian

Painting before 1400<<, in cross-section the mordant lies over an insubstantial layer that fluo- resces in ultra violet light. Its precise purpose is

unexplained. Comparing the framework established by

research in Florence, one can say that the painting technique of the Courtauld Coronation of the

Virgin is typical for the late thirteenth century. Comparison with the technique of painting in the Lindenau-Museum panels reveals generic similarities and some differences.35 The two most

significant differences between the Courtauld

panel and those in the Lindenau-Museum are in the composition of the mordant and the purple colours. The mordant used to adhere the gold leaf in the Lindenau-Museum panels probably contains the same pigments, lead white and ochres, as the Coronation of the Virgin in different proportions, but the general colour effect is

distinctly whiteish rather than yellow and one

sample contained azurite as well.36 In general and

hardly surprisingly, the palette used in all these

paintings is almost the same, however in the Lindenau-Museum panels the draperies are less saturated in colour and rely less on translucent effects, but this could be expected in subsidiary figures where the lustre of mordant gilding is substituted by pale-toned highlights. In the Lin- denau-Museum panels it is also notable to find ultramarine being employed in mixtures to create the mauve tones of the Virgin's dress, Christ's loincloth and the young king's cloak. This con- trasts with the use of azurite to create mauve in the robes of Christ and the Virgin in the Cour- tauld painting.37

Since in both cases of difference one could be

dealing with standard workshop recipes for rou- tine procedures, preparing a mordant and a pur-

32 A sample from the white on the back of the throne was examined using Fourier transform infra red microscopy and indicated egg tempera; the blue- green paint adjacent was also analysed as containing egg tempera. The pigments present were lead white and green earth. All medium analysis was carried out by Catherine Higgitt and Raymond White at the National Gallery, London and we are indebted to them for their generous assistance. The sample from

the green lining was analysed using Gas Chromato- graphy linked to Mass Spectrometry, as well as Fou- rier transform infra red microscopy. The FTIR microscopy revealed bonds indicative of a copper- resin acid carboxylate interaction.

33 D. Bomford, J. Dunkerton, D. Gordon, A. Roy, J. Kirby, Art in the Making. Italian Painting before 1400, National Gallery, London i99o, 6I-63.

34 Ibid, 46.


ple colour, the association should be considered to remain open to interpretation until there is rather more empirical evidence for the assess- ment of workshop practices and the significance of such discrepancies.

When Albrighi sold the painting to Lord Lee it was in the condition in which it is now. It was

tempting, at first, to assign the restoration to this ambitious amateur dealer whom Lee described as >a young and enterprising Italian >runner< with whom I have more than once had dealing and in whose nose and flair I had considerable con-

fidence<.38 Albrighi also sold Lee a Holy Family attributed to Raphael, now recognised as a

copy,39 and a Virgin and Child attributed to Bot- ticelli, now known to be the work of the Sienese forger, Umberto Giunti.40 In fact, at least one further distinctive campaign of restoration can be identified following the major repainting of the

figure of Christ which is, therefore, likely to have been considerably earlier. Albrighi appreciated Lord Lee's character and his correspondence brims with an atmosphere of discovery and

opportunity that clearly appealed to Lord Lee's conviction, that a collection should reflect the independent judgement of its owner rather than professional guidance.

Albrighi first mentioned the Coronation of the Virgin in a letter of 14th July 1933; a week later, on 21st July, Lord Lee requested a photograph, and on 3rd August Albrighi wrote to finalise the purchase asking Lord Lee to decide quickly since

>l'administrateur part pour le mer le 12 aout<<. Berenson considered it a museum piece, M. Stoclk (sic.) was interested, he hoped to export it via Naples >>oi est facile<<. He asked Lord Lee to cable the coded message >Brandifoglio<< by way of confirmation to his office in Milan. Perhaps

Lee's reply arrived after the official had left for his summer holiday, because a customs stamp on the reverse of the panel two weeks later, I8th August 1933, indicates that in the event Albrighi moved the painting via Chiasso through Switzer- land as he had done the so-called Raphael and Botticelli. Throughout 1934 Albrighi continued his efforts to sell Lord Lee paintings and his cor-

respondence mentions works by Barnaba da Modena, Coppo di Marcovaldo, Bernardo Dad- di, Benvenuto di Giovanni, Cavallini, Giovanni Bellini, Giunta Pisano, Giovanni di Paolo, Piero della Francesca, Francesco di Giorgio, Rem- brandt, and Holbein. On 25th July i934, Lord Lee told Albrighi, that >under the present cir- cumstances<< he had neither the funds nor space for further additions to his collection.4'

In many ways the trade in early Italian paintings such as the Coronation of the Virgin in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was similar to the illicit trade in cultural material

today. Paintings were removed from their tra- ditional context of worship or care and sold to connoisseur collectors who valued above all their aesthetic content. Without a context the Coro- nation of the Virgin has been stripped of mean-

ing and it has not been possible to locate it co-

herently within a historical narrative. Restora- tion made the painting more marketable, but further obscured understanding. One approach to the interpretation of a painting such as this might have been to remove all non-original materials and to display it as an honest fragment. To some extent this principle was applied to the framing when the reconstructed apex and gold framing bands were removed. In the I960s and 1970s this

certainly would have been the favoured resolu- tion, and Offner, for example, encapsulated this

35 The full results for all samples are discussed in Lehner (as note I).

36 The Adoration of the Magi, Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg, cross-section C.S. 6/13 also 6/22, 6/2 5.

37 Bomford (as note 33), 40. The presence of ultramarine in these samples was identified by elemental analysis (SEM-EDX) by Aviva Burnstock.

38 Viscount Lee of Fareham, A Good Innings, Vol.3, London 1940, i370; W. G. Constable, Italian paint-

ings in the Lee Collection, in: International Studio, February 1930, 21-26.

39 Viscount Lee of Fareham, A New Version of Rapha- el's >Holy Family with the Lamb<<, in: The Burling- ton Magazine, LXIV, 1934, 3-I19

40 Fake? The Art of Deception, ed. by M. Jones, British Museum, London 199o, No. 40, 34-45. G. Mazzoni, Umberto Giunti >>Falsario in Calcinaccio<< ed oltre.

41 Lord Lee of Fareham's papers (as note 4).

ZEITSCHRIFT FiR KUNSTGESCHICHTE 65. Band/ 2002 301

viewpoint as follows: >>A work of art can be an

organic whole only so long as it is the product of a single personality. Any restoration, therefore, that introduces paint or shape within its bound- aries, even if the restoration be limited to the

missing portions alone, must prove intolerable ...

any addition whatever introduces irrelevant mat- ter and serves to instil a false impression in any- one who sees the restored work<.42 The current examination has come to the opposite conclu- sion, original has been distinguished from non-

original, but both have been retained. Phrasing this decision in the terms proposed by Cesare Brandi, we could say that in balancing the aesthetic aspect and the historic aspect of the Coro- nation of the Virgin we have favoured the significance of the historic aspect. Recent analysis of residues in bronze bowls from the mid-eighth century B.C., the time of the legendary King Midas, revealed the traces of a great funerary feast of spiced mutton or goat washed down with a strongly brewed beer and wine.43 If ad-

hering soil had been washed off in the interests of recovering the aesthetic form and qualities of the pot, this information would have been lost. In the same way, we have sought to investigate and understand the materials added to the Coro- nation of the Virgin as thoroughly as the original

materials; and through documenting the chang- ing appearance of the painting we may ultimately be able to recover part of the context that it has lost. We can now state, for example, that the Tuti arms were added between 1704 and 1833-1842, so the activities of the family during the eighteenth century should be the focus of our attention.

It is an attempt to use material knowledge to connect the present with the past. Material

knowledge also assists understanding of the aesthetic content, because it can be difficult to

interpret the original appearance of materials that have aged and changed with time. The decision not to undertake a comprehensive restoration and conservation treatment is not a minimal or a neutral one, it is exactly as positively interpreta- tive as the decision to remove all non-original material would have been. For the time being the

painting will appear one way and not another. Without computer simulation, a virtual restora-

tion, we shall not be able fully to imagine an alternative appearance; however, material evidence may make imagining more plausible and offer access to the imaginations of a wider public. We have tried to avoid fragmenting the Coro- nation of the Virgin still further.

42 Philip Hendy, The Aesthetic and Historical Aspects of the Presentation of Damaged Pictures, in: Studies in Western Art, Acts of the Twentieth International

Congress of the History of Art, vol.41, Princeton 1963, 137-185, R. Offner I17.

43 Nature, December 1999, 23-30.

Photo credit: Photographs reproduced courtesy of the Conservation and Technology Department of the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; courtesy of the Stidelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt a.M.


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