Tiziano Vecellio (1490-1576), Da - L'Assunta

Nineteenth century (after Titian Vecellio)
The Assumption
Oil on canvas, 77 x 42 cm
With frame, 79 x 43.5 cm

The painting presented here is a reduced-format copy of Titian’s Assumption, executed in the nineteenth century in oil on canvas. The composition faithfully reproduces the tripartite structure of the original: in the lower band a group of apostles raising their arms express astonishment and wonder; in the middle zone the Virgin, clothed in red and with a green–blue mantle, rises toward the sky surrounded by a host of cherubs and angels wrapped in clouds; at the top, bathed in light, the Eternal Father stands prominently.
The original is an oil on panel by Titian, dating from 1516–1518, conserved in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, where it adorns the central altar. Undisputed masterpiece of the artist, the Assunta was such an innovative work that it left contemporaries stunned, definitively establishing Titian, then little more than twenty, among the great masters of the Renaissance.
The work was commissioned from Titian by the Franciscans of the Frari convent as an altarpiece in 1516, the most important official religious commission the artist had received up to that time. On 20 March 1518 the work was solemnly inaugurated, placed in a monumental marble reliquary built specifically for it. The innovation compared with Venetian sacred painting of the period was of such magnitude that the commissioners were astonished: the friars were about to reject it, were it not for the Austrian ambassador, envoy of Emperor Charles V, who offered to purchase it, recognizing its value.
With envy cooled, the masterpiece began to be appreciated for its value, in which the grandeur and terribilità of Michelangelo, the pleasure of Raphael, and the coloristic quality typical of nature converged. The altarpiece, almost seven meters high, has an extraordinary bond with the Gothic architecture of the basilica, foretelling itself from afar at the end of the nave perspective, and the bright red of the Virgin’s robe seems to reflect in the walls’ bricks, lighting them up.

The nineteenth-century copy presented here testifies to the enduring fascination exerted by the Titianian work in the subsequent centuries. The production of reduced-format replicas was a widespread practice in modern Europe, intended as much for private devotion as for aristocratic collecting, and the Frari’s Assunta was among the most replicated subjects precisely for its extraordinary visual and spiritual power. The execution quality of the copy, with accurate rendering of chromatic values and the arrangement of the figures, suggests the hand of a well-educated and technically trained painter, capable of conveying the ascensional energy of the original composition even in a reduced size.

The frame is provided as a gift, therefore it cannot be a reason for return or complaint.

For paintings purchased abroad: after payment, the procedure will be started to obtain the export license (ALC). All antique pieces sent abroad from Italy require this document, issued by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The procedure could take 3 to 5 weeks from the request, so as soon as we have the document the painting will be shipped.