Art Institute of Chicago

Diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion

Eastern Mediterranean or Italian

Date

c. 1280

Medium

Tempera on panel

Culture

Italy

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This diptych, a hinged and portable work used for private devotion, was probably made in the Latin Kingdom established in the Holy Land by the Crusaders. In style, technique, and the use of both Latin and Greek inscriptions, it shows a mixture of Eastern and Western elements. The diptych may have been made by an Italian craftsman, possibly working in the coastal city of Acre, which was the capital of a reduced crusader kingdom in the late 13th century. This type of private devotional work, and related Byzantine models imported back into Western Europe, exerted a powerful influence on later painting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.