Manuscript Leaf with the Assumption of the Virgin in an Initial V, from an Antiphonary

Artist: Niccolò di ser Sozzo (Italian, Siena, active ca. 1334, died 1363)

Date: ca. 1340

Geography: Made in Siena, Italy

Culture: Italian

Medium: Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment

Dimensions: Overall: 22 5/8 x 15 7/8 in. (57.5 x 40.4 cm)
Illumination: 7 3/16 x 5 3/16 in. (18.2 x 13.1 cm)
stave ht.: 1 3/16 in. (3 cm)
Mat size: 27 15/16 x 22 in. (71 x 55.9 cm)

Classification: Manuscripts and Illuminations

Credit Line: Gift of Louis L. Lorillard, 1896, transferred from the Library

Accession Number: 96.32.12

Description

The Assumption of the Virgin, celebrated on August 15, is an especially important holiday in Siena. Niccolò di ser Sozzo, one of the city's renowned illuminators of the fourteenth century, painted it numerous times. The Virgin Mary, in a diaphanous gown, rises effortlessly as choirs of angels guide her path.

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