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Assumption of the Virgin

Creator

Italian Artist · 1611–1690

A sculptor's son, Il Volterrano first studied with a local artist. He attended a well-known Florentine school headed by a Mannerist painter and later assisted the master's follower. His earliest works, still in his native Volterra, display this Mannerist influence. In 1636 one of the Medici family commissioned Volterrano to create frescoes on the family history for their villa in Florence; he fini

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Date: about 1664–1670
Medium: Red chalk and red wash, and white gouache heightening
Culture: Italian
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum

In preparation for a ceiling fresco of the Assumption commissioned by a Medici prince for a church in Florence, Volterrano made many compositional drawings. This study for the fresco, one of the most complete, includes all the principal elements of the painting, with only a few figures posed somewhat differently. The expansive illusionism of the scene and the figures' freedom of movement reflect Volterrano's awareness and understanding of the exuberant, illusionistic High Baroque style of Pietro da Cortona. A great physical achievement, the commission forced the aging artist to work on scaffolding at dizzying heights and in an uncomfortable and badly lit environment.

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