The ''Assumption of the Virgin'', 1475–1476, is a large (228.6 x 377.2 cm) painting in tempera on wood panel by Francesco Botticini. It portrays

Mary's assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

and was commissioned as the

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

for a church in Florence and is now in the National Gallery, London. The disciples gather around Mary's lily-filled tomb with looks of amazement. There are

donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...

s of Matteo Palmieri, 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 raises his hand in blessing to his kneeling mother. Among the lesser angels around Jesus and Mary are

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

. 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