Der Heilige Franziskus wird in den Himmel aufgenommen 

Cosimo Ulivelli made this pen and brown ink drawing, “The Ascension of Saint Francis,” sometime in the 17th century. It shows a saint being lifted into heaven by angels, and exemplifies the relationship between religious institutions and artistic production in the Baroque period. In the 1600s, the Catholic Church was a major patron of the arts. Ulivelli worked in Florence, and his art career benefitted from commissions from the Medici family, who were the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and close allies of the church. In this drawing, the upward movement and dynamic gestures of the figures create a sense of drama. The figures draw the viewer's eye up and towards heaven, in keeping with the Church's teachings. To better understand art like this, we can research the patronage system and study the cultural context in which it was made. In doing so, we can better understand the social conditions that shaped its creation.