There’s a fantastic collection of Altarpieces at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, including a nearly fully intact altarpiece called The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints.

These works of art came out of christian churches generally in the 14th and 15th centuries, with the tradition beginning during the 11th century. Frequently these paintings were made of multiple panels called diptychs, triptychs or polyptychs. However, fewer and fewer of them remain in tact, as they were broken apart and sold to collectors. The Coronation of the Virgin with Saints, seen above, is quite remarkable because it’s nearly a complete altarpiece.

If religion isn’t your thing, it’s still easy to appreciate the spectacular beauty of these panels. The imagery of the saints are typically painted more flat in nature, as opposed to rounded and three dimensional. This period of art is known as the late Middle Ages and was financed primarily by the church. The purpose of the ‘flat’ image, was to force the viewer to focus on the more godly aspect of the paintings, as opposed to the sexier fleshier painting that would dominate the Renaissance Period that  followed.

One of the more beautiful features of these panels is the gold leaf that has been used over the wood panels, as well as on some portions of the paintings themselves. The fragile gold leaf was applied over a reddish clay that provided an adhesive surface, followed by burnishing (rubbing with a hard tipped instrument). ‘Punches’ (metal rods) were also used to stamp the surface of the gold leaf, giving  additional patterns and textures. This was especially effective when creating the delicate haloes surrounding the heads of holy figures.  It’s difficult to fully appreciate the gold leafing in photos, so if you live in LA, or are here on vacation, be sure to add the J. Paul Getty Museum to your to do list.

J. Paul Getty Museum