The Assumption of the Virgin with St. Thomas and Two Donors (Ser Palamedes and his Son Matthew) (Primary Title)
Andrea di Bartolo, Italian, active by 1389, died 1428 (Artist)
In this imposing, majestic painting, Andrea di Bartolo depicts the miraculous Assumption of the Virgin Mary to heaven, aided by angels three days after her death. Here, she has dropped her sash to the Apostle Thomas (who doubted the Resurrection of Christ) as proof of the miracle he is witnessing.
According to the long Latin inscription on the base, Dominica, a woman from Urbino, commissioned the painting to commemorate the souls of her deceased husband, Ser Palamedes, and their son, Matthew. Approximately, father and son are shown kneeling in prayer on either side of the apostle.
The painting, one of only four signed pictures by this artist, once formed the center panel of an altarpiece. Andrea’s sensitivity delineated figures, subtle colors, and harmonious composition are characteristics of 14th-century Sienese painting.
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