Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009839Sketch for "The Assumption of the Virgin" (for St. James, Zbraslav, near Prague)?
About the Artwork
According to Roman Catholic theology, the Assumption is the movement of the Virgin Mary's body and soul into heaven. Thus the central figure of the Virgin dominates this scene of the Assumption, outstretching her arms and supported by two angels as she ascends into heaven. Below, saints surround the Virgin's tomb. St. Peter reaches for the foot of the ascending Virgin, suggesting a connection between heaven and earth. Giovanni Battista Piazzetta created this work as a sketch for his larger altarpiece commissioned in 1743 for the Church of St. James in Zbraslav, near Prague. The Assumption of the Virgin is a rare oil sketch by Piazzetta, and the larger composition adheres closely to this model. One difference between the sketch and the altarpiece is that the saints are illuminated more in the preliminary work. A divine light shines on the faces of the Virgin and the figures below her. Above the other figures, the Virgin appears remote and focuses on heaven as she looks upwards and beyond the painting's borders. The grouping of the figures in the center of this painting creates a vast surrounding space which fittingly gives this altarpiece sketch a sense of monumentality.
Provenance
1955-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio UNtil 1955: Dr. and Mrs. N. Lester Farnacy, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art ?: (Alessandro Morandotti [1909-1979] Rome) 1950: Hans Dietrich Gronau [1904-1951] or Carmen Groneau [1910-1999], London1 1950: (Mrs. Tancred Borenius sale, Sotheby’s, London, June 7, 1950, lot 126, sold to Gronau) 1948-1950: Anne-Marie Rüneberg Borenius, Coombe Bissett, Wiltshire, consigned to Sotheby’s Until 1948: Tancred Borenius [1885-1948], London, by descent to his wife, Anne-Marie Rüneberg1
Exhibition history
The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957). From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works of European and American Artists. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 22-December 8, 1968).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (Italian, 1682–1754)
- Date
- c. 1744
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 85 x 51.5 x 6.5 cm (33 7/16 x 20 1/4 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 71.6 x 38.2 cm (28 3/16 x 15 1/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Dr. and Mrs. N. Lester Farnacy
- Accession no.
- 1955.165
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Open-access museum record · AT-00009839
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