Assumption of the Virgin
Artist
Francesco Granacci
(Italian, 1469-1543)
Datec. 1515
MediumOil on wood
DimensionsFramed: 97 7/16 H x 89 1/8 W x 3 15/16 D in. (247.5 x 226.4 x 10 cm)
Unframed support: 89 1/2 H x 81 1/16 W x 2 15/16 D in. (227.3 x 205.9 x 7.5 cm)
Unframed support: 89 1/2 H x 81 1/16 W x 2 15/16 D in. (227.3 x 205.9 x 7.5 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN24
According to Christian legend, the Virgin gave her belt, or girdle, to Saint Thomas upon her Assumption. Said to be housed in a chapel in the city of Prato, this holy relic was particularly popular in nearby Florence. This painting was commissioned for the family chapel of the Medici, the city's most powerful and prosperous clan, in the church of San Piero Maggiore, Florence. The work was extravagantly praised by the sixteenth-century critic Giorgio Vasari. He wrote that the figures of Saint Thomas and the Virgin were so full of grace that they were worthy of Michelangelo. Indeed, the poses of these figures recall the powerful, three-dimensional forms of Michelangelo's paintings.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 04
