Titian, Assumption of the Virgin, oil paint, 1516 - 1518

Made between 1516 and 1518, Assumption of the Virgin is a 6.9 by 3.6 metre oil painting by
Titian that can be found the high altar in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The
painting depicts the virgin Mary and how she was taken into heaven after living a life which
was described as ‘earthly’. There are many different apostles below the rising Mary that
reach for her and watch as she is lifted into heaven. She is lifted by some angels that carry
her on a cloud to a god – like figure that looks to welcome Mary into heaven.

Being Titians first commissioned piece for the Frari church, Assumption of the Virgin
captures the idea of Mary’s assumption into heaven. As the painting is so large, Titian uses
the apostles and their direction and movement to draw the eyes of the viewer upwards
towards the main focus of this painting, being the virgin Mary. Quite a few of the apostles
seem to be looking us as well as reaching up as if they are trying to ascend with Mary and
join her in the kingdom of God. Titian painted Marys arms open to portray her in a praying
motion and to also show how she is embracing and accepting of her transition to heaven.
And Gods arms are open more than Mary’s to show that he is embracing her and welcoming
her with open arms into heaven. Mary is being lifted by a few angels and is surrounded by
many more who all look and reach towards her to show their admiration and love towards
Mary and all that she did for God. Surrounding Mary is a large halo of light that surrounds
her as she ascends into heaven to as another way to show that she is blessed and that she is
welcome into heaven. Mary’s halo of golden light is framed by another circle of light that
borders the painting and comes from the windows that surround Titians piece. The top of
the painting shows God framed by lots of different angels or people who look to already be
in heaven, and they all watch God with what looks to be a sense of awe, but not looking
towards Mary as she is not in heaven just yet. The painting is also in the centre of the church
when you walk in and, due to this and its incredible size, is the main focus of the room and
of the church itself, which is what Titian would have been trying to do when he first had the
idea for the painting in the middle of the church.

There are many different factors that imply that the Assumption of the Virgin is a
renaissance painting. The first thing that shows that this is a renaissance painting is the topic
of the work itself. Religion was always a big part of life during the renaissance and it
influenced almost every part of day to day life for the people who were alive at the time.
Religion influenced the way that people thought, acted and did everything, including
paintings. And because of this, a lot of paintings were based on religion and based on the
different ideas that were put forward during that time. And this can be heavily reflected in
Titians work as the painting portrays the virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she finishes
living her life on earth and ascends into heaven and into Gods arms. Another factor that
reflects the renaissance is the naturalistic painting style that is reflected in Titians work.
Making people look as realistic and natural as possible was something that emerged during
the renaissance period and can be seen throughout peoples works during this time.
Assumption of the Virgin is no different as Titian spent almost three years working on this
one painting in the hopes of making it look as real and natural as possible, which he was
able to do. The only thing that makes this painting seem not as naturalistic as it could is the
size. Because the painting is almost 7 metres tall, the people are bigger than they are in real
life and this makes the painting slightly less natural, but it doesn’t impact it too much. The
paint style and the amount of detail that is put into the painting makes every character
seem as human and natural as possible. The way that Titian wraps and curves Mary’s drapes
around her arm helps strengthen the naturalism of this image through the way that he is
able to create and use the texture of Marys clothing.

This painting was commissioned to be put behind the High altar at the Frari Church and to
act as a centrepiece for the building and Titian was able to make this happen through the
size and detail that is evident in the piece. This piece also marked a new direction for Titians
art style as well as confirming Titians place as the leading artist in Venice and one of the
most important artists in Italy during that time, almost on par with others such as Raphael
and Michelangelo.

Titians 1518 masterpiece, Assumption of the Virgin, portrays the virgin Mary in her
ascension into heaven. Titian explores the religious ideals that were present during the time
of the renaissance and that is reflected in this work and most of his works. He also creates a
very naturalistic and real life looking painting that mirrors the naturalistic movement that
occurred during the time of the renaissance. By portraying Mary as the main figure, Titian is
able to convey her importance and her relevance to the church and to the beliefs and views
of lots of people from that time, and by having the apostles reach up and want to join her,
he was able to portray the idea that people wanted to get into heaven and wanted to be
accepted by God and by all of the people in heaven.

Bibliography:
Campagnola, Domenico. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Cleveland
Museum of Art, June 1955

Author Unknown, “The Assumption of the Virgin, 1516-18 by Titian”, Accessed April 10,
2020. https://www.titian.org/the-assumption-of-the-virgin.jsp.