Orcagna's tabernacle in Orsanmichele, Florence

by Gert Kreytenberg

The tabernacle of the Madonna in the Church of Orsanmichele in Florence is one of the great monuments of Gothic art. Commissioned in 1349 by the Laudesi, a society devoted to the cult of the Virgin, it was to be a magnificent statement of Florentine piety, a marble shrine encrusted with mosaics and sculpture worthy of the wealth and the artistic heritage of the city. The Laudesi chose Andrea Orcagna, the foremost artist in the city at the time, to design and oversee the construction of their gift to the Madonna. Orcagna, a master painter at the height of his powers, had little experience as an architect or sculptor when he received the commission. However, he rose admirably to its demands, organizing a team of stone carvers, masons, and mosaicists. In doing so, he created the last great expression of Florentine Gothic genius before the dawn of the Renaissance. This generously illustrated book documents the shrine in detail for the first time, revealing the complexity of its design, the