Assumption of the Virgin – Cathedral – Naples
Pietro Vannucci, having reached a remarkable fame thanks to his presence at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, received a commission outside central Italy: Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, former Archbishop of Naples, well known in Rome and Naples for its activity as a patron of artistic and architectural works, commissioned him to realize an altarpiece representing the Virgin Assumed into heaven, for the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Naples. The archbishop probably had the opportunity to admire a fresco with the same subject, executed by the Umbrian painter in the Sistine Chapel; this work no longer exists, since it was replaced by the Last Judgment by Michelangelo. The Assumption of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata in Florence also shows the same compositional scheme.
The Assumption of Naples was initially placed above the main altar of the Duomo, then moved to a niche in the right transept in 1744 to make room for the sculptural Assumption by Pietro Bracci, still on site.
The Virgin is represented after his death, or rather the “dormitio”, while she’s asceding to Paradise, not only with the soul but also with the body, and she is crowned Queen of Heaven; around the almond of light that surrounds Mary, cherubim and musical angels are arranged neatly on two registers, except for two of them, at the top, which are putting the crown on Mary’s head. In the lower part, a group of figures are attending the scene, including Saint Thomas holding the waist according to the traditional iconography, Saint Paul, with the sword, Saint Gennaro, patron saint of Naples, and Oliviero Carafa, kneeling at the bottom left.
The work is preserved in the Cathedral of Naples.
