Assumption of Mary

When Frueauf painted this panel in 1490, Mary's bodily assumption into heaven had been celebrated every year on the 15th of August for centuries. It became official Catholic dogma only in 1950, when Pope Pius XII defined it. Here she stands above the tomb, hands joined, against a great bank of clouds, while the apostles crowd around below. One young apostle with long curls keeps reading his book. An old man in a white mantle, probably Peter, crosses his hands on his chest and looks up. Another shields his eyes with his hand, and others pray. On the lid of the tomb and on the ground beside it lie red roses and white flowers, after the old tradition that the apostles found her grave filled with blossoms.