Assumption of the Virgin
by LOTTO, Lorenzo, Oil on canvas
In 1549 Lotto won the commission to paint a huge Assumption of the Virgin for San Francesco alle Scale in Ancona and left Venice to execute the picture on the spot. Although he went intending to return after its completion, the award of a number of other local commission must have made him rethink his position. He was never to see his native city again.
The colours of this altarpiece are less lively than the usual and the play of light and shadows gives the painting a definitely melancholic aspect.