Altar Relief Sculptor of Aquila

This limestone relief from L’Aquila (in the region of Abruzzo) was for a long time thought to be an altar, however, recent art historical research suggested that it was part of an epitaph or a tomb. The lower part of the relief depicts the Virgin and Child with a kneeling donator, flanked by a female and a male saint. In the upper part, there are two angels and the half-length, blessing figure of Christ is depicted beneath the ogive. On the cornice crowning the pilasters on the sides, there is a depiction of the Annunciation. The composition, the style of the draperies, and the types of the heads show affinity with L’Aquila relics of the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth century, for example, with the carvings of the stall in Santa Guista Church or with the tympanum of Santa Maria di Roio.