The Death of the Virgin (1470–75): Art, History and Details

The Death of the Virgin (1470–75) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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 (1939.448), The Adoration of the Magi (1942.1070), and The Flight into Egypt (1954.260).

Object facts

• Title: The Death of the Virgin
• Date: 1470–75
• Creator attribution: Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 25.5 x 16.9 cm (10 1/16 x 6 5/8 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1956.744

A detail from the museum

The attentive rendering of the candlestick at the foot of Mary's bed testifies to Schongauer's familiarity with metalworking.

Collection credit

The Fanny Tewksbury King Collection

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.