SALVIATI, Cecchino del
(b. 1510, Firenze, d. 1563, Roma)

Coronation of the Virgin with Angels

c. 1550
Oil on canvas, 177 x 140 cm
Pinacoteca, Vatican

The Madonna is shown as a half-length figure rising above the clouds. Her gaze goes to the viewer, and her right hand is stretched out in a gesture of blessing. She is surrounded by nine angels. Two small nude and winged putti fly cautiously to the left and right of her head, delicately balancing a jewel-studded crown above her. Five small heads of cherubim, each with two wings, decorate the band of clouds at the bottom of the painting.

Salviati's main artistic achievement is the two angels standing to the left and right of the Madonna. They are shown in the act of opening the drapery of a small baldachin, under which the Madonna appears. They open the heavy drapery by stretching its panels apart and away from the center; at the same time they bend inward to look in pious veneration at the Virgin. These figures create an angelic frame around her.

The painting came from the Roman church of S. Lorenzo in Damaso.