Page 3 - Christie's Collecting Guide to Gold-Ground Paintings

From individual paintings to multi-panel works

Gold-ground paintings come in a variety of shapes and sizes and were used for private and
public devotion. Some gold-ground works are small, square, single-panel paintings that depict
the Virgin and Child in a pose known as the ‘Hodegetria’. This refers to the way Mary’s hand
signals that Jesus, cradled on her lap, is the saviour of mankind.

The image was particularly popular in Siena among the burgeoning Order of Franciscans,
founded in 1209, which held the belief that the Virgin could protect the city from plague,
drought and war. Siena’s congregation would offer gifts to her portraits hanging inside chapels,
or light candles before panel paintings on street corners.

Paolo Veneziano (active 1333/58-before 1362), The Crucifixion with the Madonna, Saint
John the Evangelist and two angels. Tempera on gold ground panel, triangular, in a
partially integral frame. 13⅝ x 19¼ in (34.6 x 49 cm). Estimate: £100,000-150,000.
Offered in Old Masters Part I on 3 December 2024 at Christie’s in London
Other works can consist of up to 20 gold-ground panels hinged together, housed in elaborate
frames adorned with buttresses, piers and pinnacles that reflect Romanesque and Gothic
architecture. These can measure more than 10 feet in width and height.

These complex works often tell the story of the life of Christ, or certain saints, and were
placed on altars for the clergy to use as didactic tools — bringing scripture to life and
explaining moral lessons to the mostly illiterate masses.