The Ascension, left hand panel from the Altarpiece 1461

This is a panel from Andrea Mantegna's *The Ascension*, a large altarpiece completed in 1461. It depicts the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, surrounded by angels, as his disciples look on from below. Mantegna's use of foreshortening, especially in the figures of the angels, gives the scene a dynamic, almost three-dimensional quality. The altarpiece was originally commissioned for the church of San Zeno Maggiore in Verona, and is now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The *Ascension* is one of Mantegna's most famous works, and is a prime example of the artist's mastery of perspective and detail.