Cleveland Museum of Art

Death of the Virgin

Date

mid-1500s

Medium

oil on wood

Culture

Italy, Venice

Department

European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This panel reveals a long history of changes. The initial work was painted on a single slab of wood, with strips left unpainted along the top and bottom. At an unknown time, the panel was probably cut down on the right and left sides, and the two blank strips at the top and bottom were filled in to enlarge the picture, most likely to fit its current, elaborately carved, 18th-century frame. Although these additions must have been initially more convincing, they were painted to match the yellowed and darkened original image, and thus no longer match the original paint. The flat and mismatched handling of the draperies in the lower portion also signal the intervention of a subsequent hand. The painting may have been part of an altarpiece as the predella, a long, horizontal painting along the base. The bottom of this panel exhibits signs of damage from fire and smoke, perhaps from the candles that could have been placed in front of it.

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