High Marioligy in Renaissance Renditions of the Coronation of the Virgin

The Coronation of Mary is a common motif in late-medieval and Renaissance Catholic religious art in which the Virgin Mary is depicted receiving a crown from Jesus or, especially in later renditions of the scene, from the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. This motif was inspired by Mariological interpretations of Scriptural passages like Song of Songs 4:8, Psalms 45:11-12, and Revelation 12:17 offered by Catholic theologians. According these interpretations, Mary, after her bodily assumption into heaven at the end of her life, was crowned the Queen of Heaven by God. 

The Coronation was depicted on altarpieces as early as the 12th century, but it reached its developmental height during the Renaissance. While the motif itself is the product of a high Mariology, certain formal (and a few symbolic) features of proto-Renaissance and Renaissance iterations of the Coronation show a steady progression from a high Mariology in the 14th century to an even higher Mariology at the beginning of the 17th century. As the years passed, Mary’s expression, posture, and position relative to other figures on the picture plane changed dramatically. In the 14th century, a viewer entirely unacquainted with Catholic theology or religious art would have recognized, based on purely formal elements, that Mary was subordinate to Christ in most (if not all) renditions of the the Coronation; by the turn of the 17th century, she would not have. This is not to suggest that late-16th- and early-17th-century Catholic artists would have denied that Mary was a subordinate of Christ’s, but rather that the hierarchical distance between Mary and Christ in paintings of the Coronation narrowed between the 14th and 17th centuries. Furthermore, while earlier depictions of the Coronation emphasized Mary’s humility and purity, later versions placed heavier emphasis on her beauty and glory.

The Coronation of the Virgin

Paolo Veneziano

1324

tempera on poplar panel

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This proto-Renaissance Venician altarpiece is rather typical of late medieval renditions of the Coronation of Mary. Mary is seated on a throne at the right hand of Christ and bows her head and arms toward him as he crowns her in the presence of angels. Clearly, even this relatively early painting of the Coronation is born of a high Mariology. However, Mary’s posture and expression in this altarpiece unambiguously signal her subordinate status. Notably, her head is covered, which may symbolize submission to authority (e.g. 1 Cor. 11:10).

Coronation of the Virgin

Martino di Bartolomeo

ca. 1400

tempera on panel

William Randolph Hearst Collection, San Simeon, CA

This Italian altarpiece closely resembles Vezeniano’s and represents a similar Mariology. Most of the same considerations apply here: despite Mary’s privileged position at the right hand of the throne of Christ, her posture, expression, and dress emphasize her humility and purity, rather than her power or glorification. In this rendition of the Coronation, the Holy Spirit is present in the audience, hovering above Mary in the form of a dove. The authenticating presence of additional members of the Godhead at Mary’s coronation becomes commonplace in future versions.

Coronation of the Virgin

Sandro Botticelli

1490-92

tempera on panel

Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

This later altarpiece, commissioned from Botticelli by the Dominican monastery of San Marco in Florence in honor of its patron saint, St. Eligius, depicts Mary receiving a crown from God the Father while St. John the Evangelist, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Eligius watch from the earth below. The Mariology of Botticelli’s altarpiece is higher than that of the two altarpieces above in at least two ways. First, in her assumption Mary is exalted above the fathers of the Church, and even above an apostle. Second, in this altarpiece, Mary is placed at the right hand of the Father, an honor typically reserved for Christ.

The Crowning of the Virgin

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

1502-1504

tempera on panel

Vatican Pinacoteca, Rome

In this high-Renaissance altarpiece, painted for the Oddi family chapel in the church of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia, Italy, Raphael depicts the coronation of Mary by Christ immediately following her assumption, while the apostles look on from beside her empty tomb. Besides exalting Mary above all the apostles, Raphael emphasizes both her immortality and purity by means of her vacant coffin, now filled with lilies. Still, in this altarpiece (as well as in Botticelli’s) Mary’s posture and garb resemble those in the proto-Renaissance pieces above.

The Coronation of the Virgin

Annibale Carracci

1595

oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

In this magnificent oil painting, Annibale Carracci breaks with the standard template for the Coronation in several ways. First, Mary is situated in the center of the highest part of the foreground of the painting, the absolute pinnacle of Carracci’s spatial hierarchy (note that it is now Christ who is at Mary’s right hand). Second, Mary no longer assumes the submissive posture of past renditions of the Coronation: she faces the viewer, with her head tilted back and her hair uncovered. Carracci’s Virgin Mary is, first and foremost, majestically beautiful and worthy of adoration.

The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints Joseph and Francis

Giulio Cesare Procaccini

ca. 1605

oil on panel

The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA

Procaccini’s oil painting mirrors Caracci’s in its spatial organization and in its presentation of Mary, who still faces the viewer with her head raised and her hair uncovered. Here, as in Caracci’s painting, all three Persons of the Trinity are present for and participants in the coronation. Notably, in contrast to earlier paintings in which apostles and saints are merely observers, in this piece St. Joseph and St. Francis appear to be adoring Mary as she receives her crown. Like Caracci, Procaccini portrays Mary as a paradigm of grace, beauty, and virtue.