Death of the Virgin

This small panel, painted around 1462 by Andrea Mantegna, shows the Virgin Mary's death, the moment when the apostles keep watch over the bed where she lies. The men, dressed in austere robes, hold candles, palms, a book of the dead and a censer, and their faces show restrained grief. It is striking that there are eleven apostles rather than twelve: Thomas, who according to tradition was preaching far away at that time, is probably the missing one. The scene is set within Renaissance architecture, with a checkered tiled floor that draws the eye toward the bed. Through the large window a lake with a bridge can be seen, a nod to the landscape of Mantua, so the sacred event seems to take place in the city of its patron. The cool palette and the realism of the details, from the hands to the gleam of the tall candlesticks, are hallmarks of the artist. The panel is in fact a fragment: its upper section, with Christ and the angels, has been lost, and its central motif survives separately.

Painter

Andrea Mantegna

Date

1462

Medium

tempera, panel

Dimensions

54 × 42 cm

Museum

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Movement

Early Renaissance

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Mary, woman

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