Happy Solemnity of the Ascension! Here is a lovely image illustrating the mysteries we celebrate today.
Sebastiano Ricci (Venice , 1659-1734), The Ascension of Christ, oil on canvas, 100 x 75 cm, The Shippley Art Gallery, Gateshead
This painting by the Venetian painter Sebastiano Ricci is a preparatory sketch for the decoration of a church ceiling. Italian art had developed since the late 16th Century the use of illusionistic painting on churches, domes, and vaults to open them towards a vision of the heavenly Glory of God.
The Ascension, a moment which unites the terrestrial world and the celestial world, is a perfect theme for this type of painting: the use of the illusionist perspective and fore-shortening translate Christ’s ascent among the clouds much better than a two-dimensional painting can do. The faithful in the church are situated just below the apostles and, like them, fix their gaze on Christ returning to his Father and opening the doors of Heaven to us.
Ricci came to England in 1711 in the hope of painting the dome of the new church of St. Paul’s in London. This may be one of his projects. He did not get the commission but painted instead a striking Resurrection for the chapel of Chelsea Royal Hospital.
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