| A preliminary stage of the "Sacra Conversazione" is represented by the Sienese panel "Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Saints". It is thought to be by Gregorio di Cecco and was possibly the central panel of a triptych (side panels in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples). Its attribution to him is based on the painting’s similarity to his only signed and dated work, a 1423 altarpiece for the Chapel of Francesco Tolomei in Siena Cathedral. In the painting from the Princely Collections, the scroll held by the infant Jesus reads “FIAT” (let it be done), an expression of humility in the face of God’s will. The throne is draped in rich brocade, the cloth of honour. Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Margaret of Antioch (?), Peter and Paul are grouped around the throne in strict symmetry, as are the angels. Christ is portrayed as the Redeemer at the apex of the panel. Accentuated by its colour, the depression in the foreground is a means of anchoring the figures in the space. Its lines are carried into the image, making Peter and Paul appear to be on a stage. This is the first indication of a departure from a two-dimensional gold ground for which spatial connections had no significance. The disc-shaped haloes, the clearly defined outlines of the figures and the even-handed painterly treatment of the figures, as well as the decoration lend the picture an almost ornamental character. |
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Oil on panel
height 45 cm, width 26 cm
Inscription on scroll: FIAT
Inv.-No. GE866
Provenance: 1882 acquired by Prince Johann II von Liechtenstein as a work by Turino di Vanni
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