This paper will analyze The Coronation of the Virgin, an altarpiece by Guariento di Arpo. Guariento was a painter from Padua in northern Italy. Documents show that he was active between the years 1338 and 1370. Guariento's The Coronation of the Virgin altarpiece was completed in 1344. In addition to this work, Guariento created numerous frescoes as well as paintings. His paintings include a series of scenes from the life of Saint Sebastian and a series of panels showing the hierarchy of angels ("Gothic Art," 1962, pp. 603-604). One of Guariento's most famous works is related to the altarpiece which is the theme of this paper. This is his fresco, The Coronation of the Virgin, which was commissioned for a room in the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) in Venice. This fresco, painted in 1365, has since been damaged by fire. Nevertheless, it is still considered to be a masterpiece of Guariento's later style. His altarpiece of the same name, created in 1344, is considered to be representative of his earlier style.
Guariento is chiefly known for his merging of Gothic elements with the Venetian style of painting (Masterpieces from the Norton..., 1989). The Gothic style was primarily decorative and its painted images were often flat and iconographic. In addition, the works of the Gothic style were generally focused on religious themes. By contrast, the Venetian style of painting emphasized the use of light and color for the creation of a sense of "luminosity" (Gilbert, 1973, p. 130). The Venetian school was also concerned with the use of techniques which brought increased realism to painting. Furthermore, the Venetian painters made an effort to approach the type of humanism which would characterize the later Renaissance period in art. Although it is a work from the earlier part of his career, Guariento's altarpiece, The Coronation of the Virgin, provides an example of some of the ways in which the artist combined Gothic and Ve...