Title: The Chiarito Tabernacle

Artist: Pacino di Bonaguida

Title: The Chiarito Tabernacle Date: 1340s Artist: Pacino di Bonaguida Artist Details: Italian, active 1302–about 1340 Medium: Gilded gesso and tempera on panel Description In a novel act of patronage, a layman, Chiarito del Voglia, commissioned this altarpiece to commemorate his own spiritual experiences. The painting’s appearance and subject are also unusual: the large central relief is executed in carved and gilded plaster (gesso) and symbolically represents the Communion of the Apostles—an uncommon theme in Italian art. In contrast, the surrounding scenes are rendered in colorful tempera and depict the events leading to Christ’s Crucifixion alongside extraordinary events from Chiarito’s life. A thin gold line running between the Apostolic Communion and the scene below, in which Chiarito also takes communion, suggests the donor’s participation in the heavenly spectacle.