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The Assumption of the Virgin

Painting of the Virgin Mary ascending to heaven amongst multitude of angels.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Painting of the Virgin Mary ascending to heaven amongst multitude of angels.

Date:

1577–79

Artist:

El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos)
Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614

About this artwork

This painting was the central element of the altarpiece that was El Greco’s first major Spanish commission and first large public work. After living in Venice and Rome, where he absorbed the late Mannerist style, the Greek-born artist settled in the Spanish city of Toledo in 1577 to work on the high altar of the convent church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. The church of this ancient Cistercian convent was being rebuilt as the funerary chapel of a pious widow, Doña Maria de Silva. In El Greco’s grand design, the Assumption was surmounted by a representation of the Trinity and was flanked by two side altars decorated with paintings of the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Resurrection. The visionary imagery of the Assumption and the Trinity aptly expressed the patron’s hope of salvation. Here the Virgin floats upward, supported on the crescent moon that is symbolic of her purity, while the boldly modeled heads of the crowd of apostles gathered around her empty tomb express amazement and concern. The vigor of El Greco’s broad brushstrokes proclaims the confident achievement of this early work, as does this artist’s large signature in Greek, painted as though affixed to the surface of the picture at the lower right.

Status

On View, Gallery 211

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco

Title

The Assumption of the Virgin

Place

Spain (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1577–1579

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Inscribed on paper at lower right in Greek: (Domenikos Theotokopoulos, Cretan, displayed this in 1577)

Dimensions

403.2 × 211.8 cm (158 3/4 × 83 3/4 in.) Weight with frame: 331 lbs/ 150.139 kg

Credit Line

Gift of Nancy Atwood Sprague in memory of Albert Arnold Sprague

Reference Number

1906.99

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/87479/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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