The Throne of Grace

This is an exceptional small painting, both in terms of its artistic class and theme. The composition shows the enthroned God the Father, supporting the Cross with the body of Christ nailed to it, and is recognised as a work by one of the painters linked with the studio of the Master of the Virgin’s Dormition in the Czech town of Košatki. The picture shows influences of Byzantine and Tuscan paintings, while the marks on its frame, left by hinges, suggest that it was probably a section of a two-wing mobile retabulum, called a diptych.