I chose the painting; The Assumption of the virgin by Giovanni Battista Piazetta. This painting is very detailed with very vibrant and distinctive tones that bring out the true meaning of eighteenth century beliefs. This painting has been re-painted by many famous figures throughout decades and was considered the most influential painting in Italian history. The painting was originally created by the Italian artist Titan but is most popular through Giovanni Battista Piazetta. 

The painting consists of a variety of people standing around a man with his hands spread wide as if he is preaching or giving knowledge. The piece includes sixteen different people. One being the man on the alter, three being angle like figures in the sky with a lady centered at the top of a tornado type cloud, two arguing people as one points at the man standing on the alter while the other seems to be getting an ear full, and the rest are either looking toward the woman in the sky or looking at the man on the alter with praying hand signals or motions. In the early eighteenth century religion was a very important aspect and most paintings were derived off of Christianity, especially Piazetta’s paintings. In The Assumption of the Virgin, the brightness of the painting and the placement of the light give the importance of each character and helps the spectator understand the true meaning. 

Who are the people surrounding what seems to be the preacher? The people surrounding the painting are obviously very amused by what is going on in the picture. They portray what looks to be amazement and possibly curiosity. The artist put an extreme amount of detail in the faces of the people that are assumed to be apostles or very religious figures.             He uses darkness and shadows on the backs of some of these apostles to help draw the spectator’s eyes toward either preacher or the floating women. 

Who is the man that stands centered on what seems to be some sort of tomb or stand? This man seems to be Jesus or some sort of Father religious figure. If this is the Messiah, then the lady arising in the sky must be just as important to the painting, because the man is bringing everything to a standstill to give her the respect she deserves. It is obvious to the spectator that the woman in the painting is the Virgin Mary due to the title of the illustration. The Virgin Mary regardless of whether or not she is centered in the painting is most definitely the iconic part of this painting. 

The brightness the painter uses toward the Virgin Mary, angels, and Jesus brings a very different composition than that of the people and the ocean colored background. The brightness brings a heavenly tone to the piece of art and takes the spectator’s eye away from a depressing view and instead makes you look more in depth to what is actually occurring in the piece and helps the spectator realize the beauty Piazetta is portraying.

 Piazetta, instead of widening the view of the spectator to help understand all character’s true meaning, he narrows the views of the spectators to just pay attention to these two parts of the painting that stand out the most. If you look toward the bottom right of the painting into the dark and dreary corner of the painting, you can see what seems to be a man bending over reaching downward as if he is grabbing something. One could say that this man/apostle is bending over to reach toward where the woman came from. It is inferred that the tomb she came from symbolizes the half-life state that the Virgin Mary was in before she arose to heaven. The man reaches down to either take a peak or to grab what seems to be what she was wrapped in while she was deceased. 

The painting seems to be a tribute or a painting dedicated to the death of the Virgin Mary and her honorable journey to Heaven. The Angels carrying Mary upward give the viewer the obvious clue that she is on her way to Heaven and gives us the idea that the center of the picture is meant to come across as a positive tone. The fact that most of the people are looking at the tomb in distraught paints a clear picture that what just occurred was something unnatural and incredible. 

In conclusion, this painting served as a very religious painting in the eighteenth century to remind the people of the Virgin Mary’s very authentic life and her good deeds that payed off in a heavenly way. The brightness, the people, and the dreariness of the background serve to give the painting a tone that no other reading or painting could portray. Piazetta’s detail in each of his figures help us understand which figures are the most important. For instance; Jesus Christ is very bright and elaborate with his hands spread wide as a calming posture, the apostles on the other hand are surprised and amazed, and the Virgin Mary is relaxed and is letting go of everything that seems to be negative and is now possessed by a great positive. This could serve to the spectator as a theme of instead of mourning her death, appreciate the fact that she is free and is in a much better place. The painter does a very well job using the slightest detail to each face and to each pose to help give the main idea of the intense painting. 