Virgin and Child Enthroned by a Bohemian Painter in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2022

Title: Virgin and Child Enthroned

Artist: Bohemian Painter (active Prague, 1340s)

Date: ca. 1345–50

Medium: Oil(?) and gold on wood

Dimensions: 10 3/16 × 7 15/16 × 7/16 in. (25.8 × 20.2 × 1.1 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Purchase, George T. Delacorte Jr. Gift, by exchange; Michel David-Weill Gift; The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer and Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Malcom P. Ripley, by exchange; The Rendl Fund; Lila Acheson Wallace Gift; and funds from various donors, by exchange, 2020

Accession Number: 2020.209

Exchanging affectionate glances with her squirming son, the Virgin Mary has a crown and blue halo designating her as Queen of Heaven. Understood by some theologians as being descended from the Hebrew King David, she is shown seated on a low throne (the biblical Throne of Solomon) set within an elaborate architectural construction (the Porch of Judgment). Combining the courtly elegance of French painting and the spatial innovations of Italian art, this exquisite picture exemplifies the heights attained under Charles IV (1316–1378), Holy Roman Emperor from 1355. He made Prague his capital and transformed it into a center of European culture.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/838076