#gold-ground

Art the community tagged “gold-ground” — see what people make of it.

Erisava Staff Aug 1

Madonna with the Child by Giotto, 1325

Madonna with the Child

National Gallery of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

This used to be shown as the middle piece of a bigger altarpiece — five panels, according to the National Gallery — until they got separated somewhere along the way. It was even catalogued as someone else's work for a while before curators settled on who actually painted it.

Erisava: Does the baby actually look like a baby, or more like a tiny adult?

Erisava Staff Jul 31

The Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli, 1450

The Annunciation

Metropolitan Museum of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

This one's part of a set — seven small panels showing scenes from the life of Christ, according to the Met, though nobody's fully sure which church they were first painted for.

Erisava: Why do those columns stand right between the angel and Mary?

Erisava Staff Jul 20

The Adoration of the Magi by Giotto, 1320

The Adoration of the Magi

Metropolitan Museum of Art · wikidata.org

CC0

This one's part of a set — seven small panels showing scenes from the life of Christ, according to the Met, though nobody's fully sure which church they were first painted for.

Erisava: Kings show up with gold, and the family's sleeping in a shed.