Assumption of the Virgin Mary in art

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Rubens, 1626, the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp

The

Cistercian Order and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153).[2]

Literary accounts with more detail, such as the presence of the Apostles, appeared in late medieval works such as the Golden Legend, and were followed by artists.[3] By the end of the Middle Ages, large and crowded altarpieces gave the artist the opportunity to show his virtuosity in composition, colouring and figure poses. After the Reformation, it was used to assert the Catholic position, rejected by Protestants.[4]

Nicola Filotesio, 1515–16, Death of the Virgin below, Assumption above.

Normally accompanied or carried by angels (but not usually carried by Christ, as in Orthodox icons) the Virgin Mary rises passively heavenward, where she is to be crowned by Christ, while the Apostles below surround her empty tomb as they stare up in awe.

putti throwing flowers into the tomb.[7]

Iconographic details

Some versions show the Virgin dropping her belt, the Girdle of Thomas, to Thomas the Apostle (best known for his Doubting Thomas episode) as she rises; this was to give him tangible proof of what he had seen, given his earlier scepticism.[8] The "girdle" was a major relic of the Middles Ages, naturally existing in several versions. In a miniature by the Master of James IV of Scotland (1510s), an angel passes it down to Thomas. This also has the unusual scene of the funeral procession with the Apostles.[9]

Rubens introduced two women, perhaps meant to be Martha and Mary, kneeling by the sarcophagus or bending over it. Having apparently unwrapped the shroud, they are usually holding it and collecting the roses found within. This motif was often included by later Flemish artists.[10]

sacra conversatione
treatment.

Although the final age of Mary is not given in the

sacra conversatione, with a few selected saints replacing the crowd of apostles, and often the Virgin hovering not much above them.[13]

The alternative Catholic scene from the end of the Virgin Mary's early life is the

Twelve Apostles, again reflecting the Golden Legend.[14] Some painters show both scenes, one above the other. Catholic doctrine, still emerging when most of these were painted, has declined to specify whether Mary had died before her bodily Assumption, although the slightly varying accounts given one after the other in late versions of the Golden Legend agree that she did, and was placed in a tomb, from which she was raised up three days later.[11]

Though once common in Catholic art, the last major treatment of the Death of the Virgin by itself was Caravaggio's painting in the Louvre, who caused a stir by depicting her as an untidy and realistic corpse, which some considered a breach of decorum, though compatible with the doctrine of the Church.[15]

Parma Cathedral, illusionistic dome, Correggio, 1526–1530

The Assumption was a suitable subject for

San Andrea della Valle in Rome.[16]

Selected works

With articles

Other

Gallery

Notes

  1. ^ Baumstark, 356; Hall (1996), 34
  2. ^ Hall (1983), 180–181; Baumstark, 356
  3. ^ Hall (1996), 34; see Caxton
  4. ^ Hall (1983), 338–340; Baumstark, 356; Zirpolo, 83
  5. ^ Hall (1996), 34–35; Baumstark, 360
  6. ^ Baumstark, 356
  7. ^ Zirpolo, 83
  8. ^ Hall (1996), 35, 301
  9. ^ Getty Museum; Hall (1996), 95
  10. ^ Baumstark, 359; Hall (1996), 35
  11. ^ a b Caxton
  12. ^ Baumstark, 360
  13. ^ Hall (1983), 327–328
  14. ^ Hall (1996), 94–95; Caxton
  15. ^ Zirpolo, 213–214
  16. ^ Hall (1983), 330–332
  17. ^ "The Assumption of the Virgin". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
  18. ^ "The Assumption of the Virgin with St. Thomas and Two Donors (Ser Palamedes and his Son Matthew) (Primary Title) – (54.11.3)". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts |. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  19. ^ "The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum". www.gardnermuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  20. ^ "Assumption of the Virgin". emuseum.ringling.org. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  21. ^ "Philadelphia Museum of Art – Collections Object : The Assumption of the Virgin, with the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Adoration of the Magi, the Ascension of Christ, Saint Mark and an Angel, and Saint Luke and an Ox". www.philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  22. ^ "Exchange: Assumption of the Virgin [L'Assomption]". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  23. ^ "Exchange: Assumption of the Virgin". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  24. ^ "Assumption of the Virgin". www.dia.org. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  25. ^ "The Assumption of the Virgin". Archived from the original on 2015-08-03.
  26. ^ "Exchange: Virgin of the Apocalypse". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  27. ^ "Blanton Museum of Art – The Assumption of the Virgin". collection.blantonmuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  28. ^ Full picture, National Gallery

References

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