Mannerist school; second half of the 16th century.

Mannerist school; second half of the 16th century.
"The Assumption of the Virgin".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents faults in the pictorial surface.
It has a frame of the nineteenth century.
Measurements: 138 x 103 cm; 151 x 116 cm (frame).
Belonging to the mannerist school of the second half of the 16th century, this painting represents with extraordinary dramatic and stylistic intensity the theme of the Assumption of the Virgin, one of the most sublime and venerated motifs of Christian sacred art. This scene shows the moment when the Virgin Mary, after her sleep, is raised body and soul to heaven, assisted by angels and observed from earth by the apostles, who surround her empty tomb.
The composition is clearly divided into two registers: the earthly, in the lower part, and the heavenly, in the upper part. In the lower area, the apostles react with astonishment, devotion and emotion to the miracle they are witnessing. Their expressive faces, the theatrical gestures of hands and arms, and the variety of attitudes reflect the emotional and plastic character of Mannerism, a style that sought to go beyond Renaissance balance by intensifying movement, lengthening proportions and compositional complexity.
In the upper plane, the Virgin Mary ascends in a spiral of light and glory, surrounded by angels of bright colors and sweet expressions. The figure of Mary, wrapped in a dark blue mantle over a pink tunic, presents a stylized and ethereal canon, with open arms and an elevated gaze, in a gesture of surrender and transcendence. Her body, slightly curved and in ascending contrapposto, manifests the typical mannerist elongation, which does not seek anatomical veracity but mystical and symbolic elegance.
The quality of this painting lies both in its mastery of color, where warm and cold tones are combined in expressive harmony, and in the elaboration of light, which accentuates the drama of the scene. The play of chiaroscuro creates depth and guides the viewer's gaze from earth to sky, from the human to the divine. Mannerism, as a bridge between the High Renaissance and the Baroque, finds in this type of work an ideal space to manifest its spiritual restlessness and formal sophistication.
The relevance of the theme of the Assumption in the history of art responds to its profound theological and symbolic charge: it is the culmination of Mary's redemptive role and her coronation as Queen of Heaven. The image seeks to arouse devotion and awe, but also reflection on the hope of eternal life. In this context, the Mannerist school offered a visual language especially suited to capture the supernatural, the sublime and the miraculous, moving away from classical naturalism to enter into the spiritual and visionary.