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4. Mary's Death-Western Artists

hough they retain some details found in Eastern Church art, Western artists completely transform the scene of Mary's death. Typical is this work by the Elder Hans Holbein (ca. 1493-ca. 1526). The dying Mary lies in an elaborate canopy bed. Her soul, pictured as a young girl, arrayed in a regal garment, is already entering heaven, where she is greeted by Christ and the angels. John leans toward Mary, bearing the palm of victory in his right hand as he offers a candle to her with his left. Peter, dressed in a cope, prepares to sprinkle Mary's body with holy water. Philip, carrying his tall cross-staff, steps into the room. One Apostle, seemingly indifferent to what is taking place, sits at the foot of the bed reading. The painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

his work of the late thirteenth century follows Eastern models rather closely. Peter and Paul appear to be placing Mary's body on its bier. Christ holds Mary's soul, but the figure is not swaddled. It is dressed in a long tunic, rests on Christ's arm and raises both hands. The mitred bishop at Christ's right represents James the Younger, first bishop of Jerusalem, where (according to one tradition) Mary died. The figure to Christ's left, with sword and cross-staff is Philip. This wood panel, formerly in the Augustinian cloister at Wennifsen is now in the Landesmuseum of Hannover, Germany.

his painting by Fra Angelico (1400-1455) marks a further departure from Eastern versions of Mary's death. Here her soul is depicted as a full-standing figure and no longer as a child. A cruciform nimbus surrounds Christ's head, and all the Apostles wear haloes, inscribed with their names. At the far right, John carries the palm of victory. Angels stand at the extremities of the picture. One has a censer, another a holy water stoup, and a third carries a very tall candle. Dating from 1435, the work is now in the Museum of San Marco in Florence. It was originally connected to the painting of the Coronation of Mary which is in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence. This Coronation will introduce another section of our survey.

ith Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) we come to a more purely Western treatment of Mary's death. Here she is depicted as a much older woman. Peter in priestly garb stands in the center reading the prayers for the dying. Paul is at his left. Standing in front at the viewer's left, the youthful John bears the palm of victory. Four of the haloed Apostles carry candles. There are only eleven of them, following the popular tradition that Thomas came late to the burial. The painting, dated 1462, is now at the Prado in Madrid, Spain.

ike some other fifteenth-century masters from the North, Hugh van der Goes (1440?-1482) shows us Mary propped up in a canopied bed. Her soul is not pictured, but Christ descends with two angels to bear it to heaven. As in Holbein's work viewed earlier, the Apostles are scattered around the room in various poses, their faces registering a numbing sadness and grief. (Goes is noted for his ability to portray psychological and emotional states). Peter stands, holding a candle being lit by another apostle. John, on the other side of the bed has both hands raised in prayer. Paul sits on the ground at the left, one hand resting on the bed. The painting is in the Goreninge Museum of Bruges, Belgium.

n this engraving, Martin Schongauer (ca 1450-1491) depicts Mary as a young woman. The Apostles are scattered in groups of two and four. John presents the candle to Mary. Behind him stands Peter, holding a closed book in his left hand and he looks towards Mary anxiously. His brother Andrew (with his unkempt hair) at his left, holds a holy water stoup. At the foot of the bed, Philip looks over the shoulder of an Apostle with an open book. He holds his tall cross-staff in his right hand and with his left holds a pair of spectacles against the book. Schongauer began producing engravings around the year 1470. They were widely distributed during his lifetime and were greatly admired.

ur last version for this part of our survey is a tapestry from the Cathedral of Strasbourg, France. It is one of a set of fourteen on the life of Mary that were produced between 1640 and 1657 for the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. They were paid for in part by Cardinal Richelieu. The Cathedral chapter of Strasbourg purchased them from Notre Dame in 1789.

Here Mary dies in a very luxurious setting, a palace of the seventeenth century. Dressed in a bright orange-gold robe, Peter stands at Mary's head, reading from a large book. John is behind him, looking up to heaven in awe. The other apostles kneel or stand about in a variety of dramatic poses.

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