The Assumption of the Virgin: study for a wall decoration

Matteo Bonechi 1669 - 1756

Summary

This study for a wall painting depicts the Assumption of the Virgin. She is seated on a cloud with her arms outstretched in a beneficent gesture, with an angel and a putto at her feet. The scene is contained in a painted gilt frame with canted corners, festooned with swags of fabric adorned with tassels. The fabric is being playfully arranged by other putti - innocent souls with the appearance of winged infants, whose presence adds a charming and harmonious effect. The gold-painted architecture and pink, red and blue colour scheme enhance the impression of a celestial scene: blue and red symbolise heaven and the Holy Spirit. A gold-framed rectangle painted in the lower left corner was probably intended for an inscription. Bonechi was a fresco painter who worked mainly in and around Florence. His late work responded to the growing vogue in 18th century Florentine art for incorporating elements of the French Rococo.