Assumption of the Virgin c. 1780

Editor: We’re looking at Ubaldo Gandolfi's "Assumption of the Virgin," circa 1780. It’s currently at The Art Institute of Chicago. It’s rendered in pen, ink, chalk, charcoal, pencil sketch, etching, and watercolor on paper, this drawing really strikes me as having this kind of breathless, soaring quality. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Soaring is the perfect word! For me, this drawing isn't just about the religious event, it's also about the sheer drama of ascending, of being lifted into the divine. Look at the figures – their expressions are full of awe, their bodies caught in mid-motion. Editor: Absolutely. Their upward gazes really draw you in. It makes you wonder what that might have looked like. I guess the figures at the bottom looking up is key here? Curator: Precisely! And consider this: Gandolfi was working within a long tradition of depicting this scene, but here he brings a real immediacy, an emotional charge. And his artistic method enhances it. This explosion of line and tone; this wasn't about stiff, formal accuracy. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. It's a very 'live' drawing! I wonder what kind of artwork Gandolfi made right after he sketched it out? Curator: Well, he was a very prolific artist, creating large and grand oil painting and frescos! These drawings might’ve functioned as preparations for those paintings. Perhaps Gandolfi would explore possibilities this way and select those that worked. It's lovely, thinking that the magic we observe in the finished artwork begins somewhere like here. Editor: It does, yes! I came for art historical insight and received that "special sauce" that art can offer! Thank you so much for sharing, I'm completely won over by Gandolfi now! Curator: It's a pleasure! This Gandolfi has invited me on a small journey to the stars too. Thank you.