Where Is Assumption of the Virgin? Museum Location

Q: Why is Titian's Assumption of the Virgin considered a landmark work?

Titian broke with Venetian tradition by using dramatic movement and bold reds. The composition pulls your eye upward through three distinct zones. It established him as Venice's leading Renaissance painter.

Q: Where is the Assumption of the Virgin located?

It remains in its original home at the Basilica dei Frari in Venice. The massive altarpiece measures over 22 feet tall. Titian designed it specifically for that space.

Q: How big is the Assumption of the Virgin?

It's enormous: 690 cm × 360 cm (22 feet 8 inches × 11 feet 10 inches), making it one of the largest altarpieces in Venice. Titian painted it for the high altar of the Basilica dei Frari in Venice, where it still hangs.

Q: What art movement is this painting part of?

It's a landmark of the Venetian High Renaissance. Titian was only about 28 when he completed it in 1518. The dramatic upward composition, vibrant reds and golds, and emotional intensity established him as Venice's leading painter overnight.

Titian painted the Assumption of the Virgin between 1515 and 1518 for the high altar of the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. At nearly 7 meters tall, it's the largest altarpiece in the city. The red robes of two apostles form a pyramid leading up to the Virgin's red gown, drawing the eye toward God in his red robes above.

The public unveiling on May 19, 1518 caused a sensation. The agitated figures of the Apostles broke with Venetian tradition, where saints typically stood in meditative stillness. Some viewers found it shocking, but it soon established Titian as Venice's leading artist, a rival to Michelangelo and Raphael.

The painting was removed for conservation in 1818 and spent a century at the Venice Academy before returning to the Frari in 1919. Recent investigation found paint lifting from vibrations caused by organ pipes installed behind it. Save Venice Inc. funded conservation beginning in 2018.

Titian broke with Venetian tradition by using dramatic movement and bold reds. The composition pulls your eye upward through three distinct zones. It established him as Venice's leading Renaissance painter.

It remains in its original home at the Basilica dei Frari in Venice. The massive altarpiece measures over 22 feet tall. Titian designed it specifically for that space.

It shows the Virgin Mary ascending to heaven, surrounded by angels and watched by the apostles below. Titian's treatment influenced spiritual and religious art for centuries.

It's enormous: 690 cm × 360 cm (22 feet 8 inches × 11 feet 10 inches), making it one of the largest altarpieces in Venice. Titian painted it for the high altar of the Basilica dei Frari in Venice, where it still hangs.

It's a landmark of the Venetian High Renaissance. Titian was only about 28 when he completed it in 1518. The dramatic upward composition, vibrant reds and golds, and emotional intensity established him as Venice's leading painter overnight.

Assumption of the Virgin

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Titian

Sacred and Profane Love

Christ and the Adulteress

Madonna and Child with Sts Anthony of Padua and Roch

The Concert

Related Renaissance Works

The Adoration of the Magi

The Birth of Venus

The School of Athens

Pallas and the Centaur

The Alba Madonna

Sistine Madonna

Laocoön

Salvator Mundi

About Assumption of the Virgin

Own Art Like This