Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
The Assumption of the Virgin

1670s
Oil on canvas
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

As is typical of post-medieval images of the Assumption, Mary is borne aloft on a cloud of angels. In many Assumption images she is pictured in a simple white garment such as new Christians wear at baptism; in others, the artists use the traditional blue mantle over a red robe. Murillo combines the two, giving the Virgin a blue mantle and a brilliant white robe.

Read more about images of the Assumption.

• Home Page
• Iconography of the Assumption
• This Page

Source: William M. Martin, via this page at Wikimedia Commons.