Tyrolese, 'The Dormition of the Virgin', about 1420-30

The dormition of the Virgin is the term used to refer to her death and literally means the ‘falling asleep’: the Virgin was thought to have died without any suffering. According to the Golden Legend, Saint John the Evangelist was miraculously brought to her side, followed by all the apostles (from wherever in the world they had been preaching the message of Christ). Together they performed the death rites for her.

The Virgin’s chamber is suitably richly decorated. Her coverlet is red and gold, and the ceiling is coffered (lined with sunken panel indentations) – a luxurious decorative detail which recalls classical architecture. The whole scene is framed by stone pillars and decorated with carved foliage, as was common in German painting in this period.

The saint in the white robes swinging the censer is Peter, who led the others in performing the rites, according to the legend. The clean-shaven figure in brown holding the palm leaf is John; the palm was given to him by an angel to carry to the Virgin. The legend also mentions Saints James and Paul by name, and they may be the more prominently depicted apostles in front of the bed. The picture is unusual in that it seems to show 13 apostles, when there were only 12. In order to fit them all into the space of the room and to show how crowded it is, the artist – whose identity is as yet unknown – has painted only the tops of the heads and haloes of some.

In front of the bed, a smaller figure kneels in prayer. He has a tonsure (a partly shaved hairstyle worn by male members of religious orders) and wears a hooded cloak, showing he is a monk; he is probably the person who commissioned the painting. The scroll he carries is inscribed in Latin with a prayer expressing his hope to join the Virgin in heaven.

This may have been made as part of a larger painting, possibly an altarpiece. There is a panel showing the Crucifixion at the Cistercian monastery at Stams in Tyrol, Austria, which is very similar in style to this painting. It is possible they both belonged to the same ensemble as a commission from the monastery.