The ''Assumption of the Virgin Mary'' or ''Assumption of the Holy Virgin'', is a painting by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, completed in 1626 as an altarpiece for the high altar of the

Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp The Cathedral of Our Lady () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's seat of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. It was constructe ...

, where it remains. In Rubens' depiction of the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

, a choir of angels lifts her in a spiraling motion toward a burst of divine light. Around her tomb are gathered 11

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

(according to the legend that tells that Thomas was absent) — some with their arms raised in awe; others reaching to touch her discarded shroud. The women in the painting are thought to be

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

and the Virgin Mary's two sisters. A kneeling woman holds a flower, referring to the

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

that miraculously filled the empty coffin. The Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady opened a competition for an Assumption altar in 1611. Rubens submitted models to the clergy on 16 February 1611. In September 1626, 15 years later, he completed the piece. There is a smaller studio version, with some differences, in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Another version hangs on the right side altar of the castle church St. Peter and Paul in

Kirchheim in Schwaben Kirchheim or Kirchheim in Schwaben (English language, engl. ''Kirchheim in Swabia'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and a market town in the district of Unterallgäu in the region of Swabia (Schwaben) in the south-west of Bav ...

, Germany. The modello of this painting is exhibited in the Mauritshuis Museum in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

References

External links

National Gallery of Art page about the painting.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assumption Of The Virgin Mary (Rubens) 1626 paintings Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

Angels in art Paintings in the Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) Altarpieces

See also

References

External links