What a puzzle

 

John gave me this beautiful 470 piece puzzle for Christmas. It's one of those made-in-England Wentwood wood jigsaws with the tiny, whimsical shaped pieces. It looked intimidating, but once he started the border I took it from there and thoroughly enjoyed finishing it over several days.  

Let me tell you about the art:

The work is called "The Coronation of the Virgin," and was completed in 1444 by Antonio Vivarini and his brother-in-law Giovanni d'Alemagna, who both lived on the island of Murano. It was installed at the unassuming looking San Pantalon Church in Venice (below) where you can see it to this day. The painting was restored in 1996 with funding from the Boston Chapter of Save Venice.

It was done on wood panel, approximately 70x90 inches, using egg tempura and gold leaf. Lots of gold leaf.

The Queen of Heaven is shown in the center, being crowned by her son, Jesus Christ, surrounded by members of a heavenly hierarchy with angels at the top. God the Father blesses Christ, who crowns his mother, while the dove of the Holy Spirit sits on his lap.  

The Gothic, Byzantine and renaissance elements blend together in a strange and wonderful way. A full audience of saints and prophets are seated in tiers like choir stalls, as if heaven were the apse of a gigantic church auditorium. 

The detail on the puzzle is amazing, with hundreds of faces, each one a miniature portrait.

So, did you enjoy the Super Bowl? We were home even before the first quarter was over, so got to watch the rest of the game and the half-time show, which was quite the whiplash after Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. 

Stormy weather for the next few days, and even a chance of snow flurries for Valentine's Day tomorrow.