The Assumption of the Virgin – Basilica della Santissima Annunziata – Florence
The panel, depicting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in heaven, was conceived from one of the largest and most prestigious altarpieces of Renaissance Florence, commissioned in 1500 by the friars of the church of the Servants of the Santissima Annunziata.
Designed by the architect and carpenter Baccio d’Agnolo (1462-1543), the altarpiece was structured like a complex polyptych: on a structure in the form of a triumphal arch in classic style, the panels were arranged on the front, back and sides. Initially, the realization of the tables was entrusted to Filippino Lippi, who died on 20 April 1504; on 5 August 1505 the task then passed to Perugino, who finished the work in 1507. The polyptych was dismantled in 1546; today it is completely dismembered, with the various panels preserved in several museums scattered around the world.
Only the Assumption is still preserved in the original place: originally conceived for the high altar, the table had several locations inside the church, and then be placed in the Chapel of the Baratta family, called dell’Assunta, where it is still located today.
The scene depicts the Virgin at the moment of the Assumption: Mary is in fact in the upper part of the painting, framed by a golden almond reminiscenting the Middle Ages.
She rests her feet on a cloud supported by cherubim, and raises her head, barely reclining, as she looks up to the sky; she is dressed in a very simple red robe with a blue mantle refined in gold on top of it, and the arms are crossed to the chest as a sign of prayer. Around her, musical angels sing hymns of glory, while two others, lower down, hold cartouches and accompany Our Lady on her ascent to heaven. In the lower register, the twelve apostles quietly witness the scene.
In the realization of this table Perugino was helped by the collaborators of his workshop; the painting repeats the typical characters of his artistic production, such as the graceful gestures and the sweet appearance of the faces,
and in the creation of the characters Vannucci probably also used some cartoons already used in other works: because of this repetition of the composition the work was not received with enthusiasm by the community, and it was harshly criticized by contemporaries.
The artwork is preserved at the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata.
