Vernissage

Gold Ground

Curated by Clara Wensley

For two centuries of European painting, heaven was made of gold leaf, beaten thinner than paper, laid over red clay and burnished until it shone. Saints stand on it instead of in a landscape. Look closely at the haloes: their patterns were punched into the gold with tiny tools, one mark at a time.

Walk in

11 works0 visits

Saints Matthew and Francis

Checklist

In the order you meet them, clockwise from the far wall.

  1. 1
    Saints Matthew and Francis

    North wall

    Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)

    Italian, Siena 1398–1482 Siena

    Saints Matthew and Francis, ca. 1435

    Tempera on wood, gold ground

    138.7 × 88.3 cm (54 ½ × 34 ¾ in.)

  2. 2
    Christ and the Twelve Apostles

    North wall

    Taddeo di Bartolo

    Italian, Siena ca. 1362–1422 Siena

    Christ and the Twelve Apostles, ca. 1400

    Tempera on wood, gold ground

    24.4 × 185.7 cm (9 ½ × 73 in.)

  3. 3
    The Crucifixion

    East wall

    Pietro Lorenzetti

    Italian, active Siena 1320–44

    The Crucifixion, 1340s

    Tempera and gold leaf on wood

    35.9 × 25.7 cm (14 ¼ × 10 in.)

  4. 4
    Madonna and Child

    East wall

    Paolo di Giovanni Fei

    Italian, San Quirico, active by 1369–died 1411

    Madonna and Child, 1370s

    Tempera on wood, gold ground

    87 × 59.1 cm (34 ¼ × 23 ¼ in.)

  5. 5
    Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 11

    East wall

    Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 11, 1200s

    Album; ink on paper

    34.7 × 39 cm (13 ¾ × 15 ¼ in.)

  6. 6
    Predella Panel from an Altarpiece: St. Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican Habit

    South wall

    Giovanni di Paolo

    Italian, c. 1403–1482

    Predella Panel from an Altarpiece: St. Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican Habit, 1460s

    Tempera and gold on wood panel

    28.9 × 23 cm (11 ½ × 9 in.)

  7. 7
    Virgin and Child

    South wall

    Icilio Federico Joni

    Italian, 1866–1946

    Virgin and Child, 1400s

    Tempera and gold on wood

    24.2 × 16.6 cm (9 ½ × 6 ½ in.)

  8. 8
    The Annunciation

    West wall

    The Annunciation, 1380s

    Tempera and oil with gold on wood

    35.2 × 26.5 cm (13 ¾ × 10 ½ in.)

  9. 9
    Calvary with a Carthusian Monk

    West wall

    Jean de Beaumetz

    French, c. 1335–1396

    Calvary with a Carthusian Monk, 1389–95

    Oil on oak panel

    56.6 × 45.7 cm (22 ¼ × 18 in.)

  10. 10
    Virgin and Child

    West wall

    Fiorenzo di Lorenzo

    Italian

    Virgin and Child, c. 1500

    Tempera and gold on wood

    44 × 32.4 cm (17 ¼ × 12 ¾ in.)

  11. 11
    Christ in a Mandorla, with the instruments of the Passion, with St. Stephen and St. Lawrence below

    West wall

    Berlinghiero

    Italian, before 1242

    Christ in a Mandorla, with the instruments of the Passion, with St. Stephen and St. Lawrence below, c. 1230s

    Tempera and gold on wood

    42.4 × 12 cm (16 ¾ × 4 ¾ in.)