1472
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Death of the Virgin is a 1472 by Martin Schongauer, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see twelve men in robes crowded around a bed where a young woman lies dying, a candle flickering in the dim room. This is Mary’s last moment, but Schongauer shows her as a girl—no wrinkles, no gray hair—because, in the story, she never aged. The apostles look on, some praying, some holding her hand. It’s quiet, almost like a family gathered at a bedside. If you want to see how other artists painted this same scene, look up *chiaroscuro*—the way light and shadow shape emotion.
According to the apocryphal Gospel by Pseudo-Matthew, the apostles were present at the Virgin Mary's death. Here, the apostles all gather around Mary's deathbed, as Christ's mother—shown as a young woman due to her immaculate state—is about to draw her last breath. Saint John supports the lighted candle that the Virgin can not longer hold by herself. Other apostles perform the last rites for Mary and look at her with sorrow and concern. This print belongs to a set of four engravings considered to be an incomplete series of episodes of the Life of the Virgin, which also includes The Nativity…
The attentive rendering of the candlestick at the foot of Mary's bed testifies to Schongauer's familiarity with metalworking.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Martin Schongauer, also known as Martin Schön or Hübsch Martin by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter.
See the richer artist page
