''Passerini Assumption'' (Italian: ''Assunta Passerini'') is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist

Andrea del Sarto Andrea del Sarto (, , ; 16 July 1486 – 29 September 1530) was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. He was known as an outstanding fresco decorator, painter of altar-pieces, ...

, painted in 1526. It is housed in the

Galleria Palatina The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the presen ...

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

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

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

The work was commissioned by Margherita Passerini for her private altar in church of Santa Maria fuori le mura at

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan 𐌂𐌖𐌓� ...

: the contract is dated 1526, for a price of 155

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

. In 1553 the friars of that church moved, together with their properties including this artwork, to the church of Sant'Antonio dei Servi. In 1639 the panel was acquired by Grand Duke Ferdinand II de' Medici; a copy paid by him to remain in the church is now in the Diocesan Museum of Cortona. the work later was moved to the current location, in pair with the similar ''

Panciatichi Assumption ''Panciatichi Assumption'' (Italian: ''Assunta Panciatichi'') is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist Andrea del Sarto, painted c. 1522-1523. It is housed in the Galleria Palatina of Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy. History The painting was co ...

'' also by Andrea del Sarto.

Description

Andrea del Sarto painted this work using his previous ''

'' as model. the few variants include the dark background, instead of a landscape, the different position of Mary and the angels around her, and the replacement of the right kneeling apostle with Blessed

Margaret of Cortona Margaret of Cortona (1247 – 22 February 1297) was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of Saint Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonized in 1728. She is the patron saint of the falsely accused ...

, who was the donor's protector. The left apostle was replaced by

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

, patron of the donor's father or dead son. At the time of the execution of this version, Andrea del Sarto was already married, and (as mentioned by late biographer

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

) Mary's face is likely a portrait of his wife.

Sources

External links

Page at the Florence Museums website
1526 paintings Paintings in the collection of the Galleria Palatina Paintings by Andrea del Sarto Paintings of the Virgin Mary Christian art about death Paintings about death Paintings of apostles Altarpieces Angels in art {{16C-painting-stub