To be viewed with devotion

Around 1340 or 1345, when he was painting the two multipanel private altarpieces now at the center of a captivating new exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Paolo Veneziano — Paul the Venetian — could not have known that in just a few short years the great port city on the lagoon would be swamped by the Black Death.

Surely Paolo knew about plagues. Venice was the largest, richest trading city of its

Where: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood When: Tuesdays-Sundays, through Oct. 3 Admission: Free Info: (310) 440-7300, getty.edu

Gary Coronado Los Angeles Times “THE CORONATION of the Virgin,” shown in detail, is lavishly ornamented with gold leaf, which gives the 14th century altarpiece panel a sacramental glow.