Bernardino Gatti – Canvas (1572/1573). Main Altar Piece. Assumption of the Virgin into Heaven

Lute, classical cittern-lyre (theatrical), viola da braccio, cornett with mouthpiece

It is an angelic concerto that welcomes the Virgin Mary into Paradise. A celestial being plays a lute which, although perfectly recognizable, does not provide any particular details. Another angel holds a cittern (theatrical lyre) with a soundboard and a circular sound hole. The strings are not painted. The viola da braccio already has the shape of the modern violin with crescent-shaped sound holes. The fingerboard is short, as was customary during the Renaissance. The strings are not painted. The final scroll is not yet present. A fourth angel plays a cornett with mouthpiece, of which only the initial part of the tube is visible, showing the beginning of a curve. On the right side of the depiction, angels sing with musical books divided by “parts,” as was customary throughout the 16th century.