Focus on this artwork and explore the Influences.
A supposed model for the central figure is the Virgin of the Assumption by Giuseppe Valeriano and Scipione Pulzone in the Church of the Gesù. An even more important antecedent for the panel is the Transfiguration of Raphael, a masterpiece that Carracci much loved and studied. That Carracci took inspiration for the lighting - a strong spotlight effect giving a sculptural look to the forms -  from Raphael, becomes clear if compare the figure of Saint Peter with the Saint Peter in the same location on the Transfiguration. The Assumption of the Virgin by Titian was another great Renaissance painting that may have influenced Carracci while working on the same subject, especially regarding the heads of some of the apostles in deep shadow and in profil perdu.
The relationship between the paintings of Caravaggio and Carracci in the chapel is a perpetual subject of discussion in art history. It seems probable that each artist "subtly altered his style of painting as a result of this direct confrontation with the other", and "Annibale's monumental saints, whose
hands and feet seem to pierce the picture plane" may have influenced Caravaggio. The Cerasi Assumption was a turning point in Annibale's painting style as his compositions became darker, the figures larger and more monumental during the last phase of his career. Donald Posner termed his style in this period 'hyper-idealized'.
The painting was not regarded among Carracci's best works by his two 17th-century biographers. Giovanni Pietro Bellori only mentions it shortly when listing the late works of the artist while Carlo Cesare Malvasia is even more dismissive. Modern art history showed more appreciation. "The visual effects ensured that the spectators in the chapel space experienced for themselves the onrush of divine energy as the Virgin soared from the tomb, outward and over their heads into the painted vault of the crossing, where the actual Coronation was painted", says Rosemary Muir Wright. "The Virgin herself had become an icon of ideal beauty in a form which owed much of its perfection to the model of Raphael. This idealization provided the necessary reminder of the supernatural nature of the event, despite the obvious visual conviction of natural form and three-dimensional space."
Assumption of the Virgin Raphael right Caravaggio Carlo Cesare Malvasia Titian Church of the Gesù Saint Peter Scipione Pulzone Transfiguration Giovanni Pietro Bellori Giuseppe Valeriano Assumption Carracci