Assumption of Mary

Marco d'Oggiono painted this Assumption of Mary around 1515, depicting the Virgin's bodily ascent into heaven as one of his more ambitious narrative compositions. The Assumption was an important devotional subject celebrating Mary's unique privilege of bodily resurrection before the general resurrection, and altarpieces depicting it served the Feast of the Assumption on August 15. D'Oggiono was a direct pupil of Leonardo who extended his career into the 1520s, one of the last members of the first Leonardesque generation. His Assumption compositions show his characteristic combination of Leonardesque figure modeling—the soft sfumato flesh, the psychological interiority—with the more dynamic compositional requirements of narrative subjects that required managing the Virgin's ascent, the surrounding angels, and the astonished apostles below.

The panel shows the warm tonal palette and atmospheric depth characteristic of Venetian-influenced painting, with the rich glazes and soft modeling typical of the north Italian tradition.