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On recovering he cancelled this commission and instead went on a pilgrimage to Rome and then Jerusalem. The Couronnement is therefore a commemoration of this journey. For the altarpiece Quarton drew on his memories of the cathedral sculpture of northern France: the lower portion displays a panoramic view of the Earth and the subterranean world which represents Purgatory, while Hell is shown in the predella.

A real lintel supports the tympanum, dominated by the Holy Trinity. In the 15th century the style forged by the Master of the Aix Annunciation and by Quarton is one of the great styles of Latin Europe, on a level with that of Florence and of Spain and Portugal. Its origin is unknown and the armorial bearings have worn away so that the donors cannot be identified.

The colour, the drawingthe density, the tautness of the faces, and the sunken eyes, the characteristic Virgin, the hands, the directional hatching, however, all point to Quarton's brush. If the bishop is St Agricola, particularly venerated in Avignon, the picture may well date from Quarton's early days in the city, around The Avignon Pieta The subject matter of The Avignon Pieta Louvre in particular the way St John takes off the crown of thorns and also its composition influenced the Tarascon Pieta, painted about Paris, Musee de Clunywhich proves that it is earlier than that date.

It is almost certainly intended for the Charterhouse of Villeneuve, and certain features of the work, such as the composition, the figure of Christ, and the delineation of the eyes, hands and rocks, point to Quarton's authorship. The dirt now covering the painting has completely changed the colour, which is in fact quite clear and austere, and has also altered the forms by adding a false chiaroscuro.

The work's donor, a canon wearing an amice, bears a striking resemblance to the portrait of Montagnac which appears twice in Quarton's Coronation of the Virgin. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that Montagnac, on returning from his pilgrimage, decided to recommission the votive painting portraying himself as donor, which was to have been placed by his tomb in the Charterhouse.

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Provence at this time had some of the most impressive painters in France, to judge by surviving work at any rate, with Nicholas Froment and Barthelemy d'Eyck, who both appear to have collaborated with Quarton; the North had Jean Fouquet however. All were influenced by both Italy and the Netherlands to varying degrees. The Popes and Anti-Popes were no longer living in Avignon, but it remained Papal territory, and the city contained many Italian merchants.

Except for some banners, no works by Quarton for Rene of Anjou, the ruler of most of Provence, are documented, although Rene was a keen patron of the arts who employed D'Eyck for many years and patronised several other artists. Although the influence of Quarton can be seen strongly in subsequent Provencal painting, and also in some works as far away as Germany and Italy, he was later almost wholly forgotten until the Coronation of the Virgin was exhibited in Paris insince when both awareness of his importance, and the number of works attributed to him, has steadily increased.

The attribution to him of the Avignon Pieta has only been generally accepted since about the s.

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The Virgin of Mercy This work, also known as the Cadard Altarpiece after the donor, uses a motif that is most often found in Italian art, and was developed by Simone Martini a century earlier. The painting has the same plain gold background as the Avignon Pieta, which by this date was unusual, although it also appears in what is now the best-known version of this theme, completed just a few years earlier by Piero della Francesca.

The scale of the figures is hieratic; The Virgin and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist tower over the donor and his wife, who are themselves slightly larger than the faithful sheltered by the Virgin's robe. The contract of February specifies that both Quarton and Pierre Villate will work on the piece, but art historians have struggled to detect two hands in the works as it exists, although Dominique Thiebaut suggests some of the sheltering figures are weaker than the rest of the work, and by Villate.

Influenced by Italian art, the school developed a distinctive style marked by simplified forms and a strong sense of monumentality.

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Quarton's "Annunciation" is considered a key work of the Avignon School. Collaborative Partnerships Quarton worked alongside other artists who shared his northern background and influences. In Avignon, he collaborated with the Master of the Aix Annunciation, whose eponymous work played a pivotal role in shaping the school's style. The contract has been described as "the most detailed to survive for medieval European painting".

His very strong colours have little shading, and his lighting is "harsh, even merciless". Before the painting was generally attributed to Quarton, some art historians thought the painting might be by a Catalan or Portuguese master. The bare background landscape falls away to a horizon broken by the buildings of Jerusalem, but instead of a sky there is plain gold leaf with stamped and incised haloesborders and inscriptions.

The clerical donor, portrayed with Netherlandish realism, kneels to the left.