# Death of the Virgin

**Unknown artist**  
mid-1500s  
oil on wood  
Framed: 78.8 x 130.9 cm (31 x 51 9/16 in.); Unframed: 25 x 103.5 cm (9 13/16 x 40 3/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.797. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.797).

## About this work

This panel reveals a long history of changes. The initial work was painted on a single slab of wood, with strips left unpainted along the top and bottom. At an unknown time, the panel was probably cut down on the right and left sides, and the two blank strips at the top and bottom were filled in to enlarge the picture, most likely to fit its current, elaborately carved, 18th-century frame. Although these additions must have been initially more convincing, they were painted to match the yellowed and darkened original image, and thus no longer match the original paint. The flat and mismatched handling of the draperies in the lower portion also signal the intervention of a subsequent hand. The painting may have been part of an altarpiece as the predella, a long, horizontal painting along the base. The bottom of this panel exhibits signs of damage from fire and smoke, perhaps from the candles that could have been placed in front of it.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

An unrecorded Italy, Venice artist painted this in the mid-1500s. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Italy, Venice
- Real size: about 10 × 41 in (25 × 104 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Movement: [Renaissance](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/renaissance)
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/481.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/481/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/death-of-the-virgin-cma-97159).