Coronation of the Virgin 1483

Domenico Ghirlandaio painted this Coronation of the Virgin, an altarpiece, around 1485 in Florence, Italy. The painting depicts a familiar scene of the Virgin Mary being crowned as Queen of Heaven by Christ, surrounded by saints, angels, and other figures. But look closer: how does it create meaning through its visual codes? Florence in the 15th century was a republic governed by wealthy merchant families who invested a lot of money in public art. Religious imagery like this one was frequently commissioned by these families to express wealth and to promote their status. Ghirlandaio ran a workshop that mass-produced art for this purpose. He was popular with the rising middle class because he painted in a conservative style and he followed the traditional compositions of religious scenes. Art historians analyze original documents, archival material, and the social history of Florence to better understand the economic and social context of this painting. That helps us reflect on the meaning of art as something that is contingent on social and institutional context.