MANDORLA

Mandorla: translation

In English,almond. An almond shape used in art to surround saintly figures, like the Virgin Mary or Christ, to denote their divinity. The device is more common in works belonging to the Proto-Renaissance era, for example, theStrozziAltarpiece(1354-1357) in the Strozzi Chapel at Santa Maria Novella, Florence,by Andrea Orcagna, where Christ is centered in amandorlaand surrounded by seraphim. In the Baptistery of Padua, the Virgin is enclosed in amandorlain Giusto de' Menabuoi's fresco (c. 1378) and hovers above the entrance to the tomb of Fina Buzzacarini, the patron. A work that belongs to the Early Renaissance that utilizes the device is theSansepolcro Altarpieceby Sassetta (1437-1444; Borgo di Sansepolcro, Church of San Francesco) where St. Francis, enclosed in amandorla, hovers above the sea with the Franciscan Virtues of Charity, Poverty, and Obedience above him.