The Assumption of the Virgin
Mid-XVIIcentury.On display elsewhere
The rather monumental conception of this composition was customary for this painter, but here it is due to the fact that he was drawing on a well-known print by Schelte a Boswert that had also been used by his teacher, Carreño de Miranda. Indeed, Cabezalero may have first seen this print in Carreño´s studio. That would justify this painting´s early dating in his catalog. The group of Apostles observing the Virgin´s assumption is copied literally from the lower part of that engraving, while the Virgin and angels are identical to those appearing in other works by Cabezalero, including his Assumption at the Museo del Prado (P658), which was previously attributed to Mateo Cerezo; or his canvases for the Venerable Third Order of Saint Francis (Madrid, convent of San Francisco). His treatment of the clothing and light is identical, although very muted in the present painting.
