The ''Assumption of the Virgin'', 1475–1476, is a large (228.6 x 377.2 cm) painting in

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

on wood panel by

Francesco Botticini Francesco Botticini (real name Francesco di Giovanni, 1446 – 16 January 1498) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He was born in Florence, where he remained active until his death in 1498. Although there are only few documented wor ...

. It portrays Mary's assumption and was commissioned as the altarpiece for a church in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and is now in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, London. The disciples gather around Mary's lily-filled tomb with looks of amazement. There are donor portraits of

Matteo Palmieri Matteo di Marco Palmieri (1406–1475) was a Florentine humanist and historian who is best known for his work ''Della vita civile'' ("On Civic Life"; printed 1528) which advocated civic humanism, and his influence in refining the Tuscan vernacul ...

, who commissioned the work, kneeling on the left, and his wife on the right. In Heaven above, surrounded by the nine choirs of angels,

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

raises his hand in blessing to his kneeling mother. Among the lesser angels around Jesus and Mary are saints. Together with Palmieri's poem ''La città di vita'', this mixing of saints with angels raised questions about the orthodoxy of the donor Palmieri, and possibly that of the painter Botticini himself.Francesco Botticini, The Assumption of the Virgin; NG1126, The National Gallery, London
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References

Italian paintings Paintings depicting Jesus Botticini Angels in art Collections of the National Gallery, London 1476 paintings {{15C-painting-stub

See also

Further reading

References