"THE QUEEN OF THE ANGELS"
2000-08-15 until 2000-11-05
J. Paul Getty Center
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA

This exhibition focuses on the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and features artworks produced between 1160 and 1530, when the cult of the Virgin flourished. It explores the richness of Marian devotion and highlights Mary’s three most important roles: virgin mother, queen, and intercessor.

Taking it's title from Los Angeles' historic name, El Pueblo de la Reyna de Los Angeles (The Town of the Queen of the Angels), the new Museum exhibition The Queen of the Angels presents 400 years of illuminated manuscripts focusing on the Virgin Mary.

The 19 works on view were produced in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance when veneration of the Virgin was at its most intense. Dating from around 1160 to 1530, the works include prayer books, religious service books, history books, a saint's life, and a panel painting that highlights Mary's three most important roles: Virgin Mother, Queen of Heaven, and Intercessor.

The exhibition includes The Coronation of the Virgin (about 1420) by the Italian Renaissance painter Gentile de Fabriano, which shows Mary and Christ dressed in sumptuous robes and enthroned in heaven. Also on display is The Assumption of the Virgin in Stammheim Missal (about 1160) that portrays Mary gently floating up toward the Lord, who is poised to crown her.

IMAGE:
Illustrated: Attributed to Simon Marmion,
Saint Bernard's Vision of the Virgin and Child.
Miniature from a prayer book or a book of hours;
probably Valenciennes, about 1480-90.
Tempera and gold leaf on parchment Ms.32, recto.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of California

Other Important Exhibitions in LOS ANGELES