# Nave vault [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [LANFRANCO, Giovanni]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Fresco ## Commentary The ten compartments of the nave vault contain a rich pictorial program. It is centred on the Ascension of Christ which is distributed across three panels treated as glimpses into heaven: a choir of angels, the ascending Christ, and God the Father. The continuous blue background suggests a unified space extending above massive, three-dimensional framing of the ribs. The three-part centre sequence is framed by seven vault caps in which numerous Old Testament can be seen in loose groupings, some lounging on clouds, some seated on the painted frames or cut off by them. The most prominent of these is a youth reminiscent of <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/m/michelan/3sistina/3prophet/10\_3pr7.html'\)" href="/html/m/michelan/3sistina/3prophet/10\_3pr7.html">Michelangelo's Jonah</a> from the Sistine Ceiling. He represents Abel \(at the bottom of the present photo\), who as the first murdered human was also the first to glimpse the glory of Paradise. ## Related artworks - [Angelica and Medoro]() - [Christ Ascending]() - [Christ Served by Angels]() - [Coronation of the Virgin with St Augustine and St William of Aquitaine]() - [Crossing cupola paintings]() - [Crucifixion \(detail\)]() - [Crucifixion]() - [Cupola vault \(detail\)]() - [Cupola vault]() - [Design for vault frescoes]() - [Ecstasy of St Margaret of Cortona]() - [Hagar in the Wilderness]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()