The Death of the Virgin

Painted by Michiel Coxie around 1555, this work originally served as the central panel of a triptyche commissioned for the Collegiate Church of Saint Gudule in Brussels. The complete altarpiece, which included side panels depicting the Nativity and Presentation of the Virgin, was acquired by King Philip II of Spain, a frequent patron of the artist. In 1586, the monarch donated the triptych to the monastery of El Escorial alongside other works by Coxie. The painting is currently housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

The Death of the Virgin is held by the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It forms the central panel of a triptych whose flanking wings, the Birth of the Virgin and the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, are also preserved at the Prado.

The triptych was originally painted for the Collegiate Church of Saint Gudula in Brussels. It was subsequently acquired by Philip II of Spain, for whom Coxcie worked as a court painter, and in 1586 the king donated the work, together with other pieces by the artist, to the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Michiel Coxie's The Death of the Virgin, created around 1550, occupies a significant position in the transition between Northern and Italian Renaissance traditions. The artist's training in both Brussels and Rome is evident in the work's synthesis of Michelangelo's muscular figure style with the classical beauty associated with Raphael, all while maintaining a distinctively Flemish realism in the depiction of objects. Originally the central panel of a triptyque commissioned for the collegiate church of Sainte-Gudule in Brussels, the painting reflects Coxie's status as a favored court painter to Philip II of Spain.

The monarch later transferred the triptyque, along with other works by the artist, to the Monastery of El Escorial in 1586. The composition manages to convey the spiritual gravity of the scene through a crowded arrangement of poses and gestures, avoiding excessive emotional exaltation in favor of contained drama.

Created circa 1550 by the Flemish painter Michiel Coxie the Elder, this oil on canvas depicts the final moments of the Virgin Mary. The work is part of the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Coxie, known for his altarpieces and stained‑glass designs, was active in the courts of Charles V and Philip II, earning a contemporary reputation as the “Flemish Raphael.”