Assumption of the Virgin

Antwerp's cathedral had been waiting a very long time for this. The clergy first opened a competition for an altarpiece of the Assumption back in 1611, and Rubens submitted ideas then. But the huge stone altar meant to frame it was not finished for another 15 years, so the painting he finally delivered dates to 1626. It is nearly five metres tall, and part of it was painted right there in the church. By this point Antwerp's great trading days were behind it, yet the Counter-Reformation was in full swing, and the Catholic church wanted art that overwhelmed you. Rubens gives it exactly that. A spiral of angels carries Mary up toward the light, while below, the apostles crowd around her empty tomb, some reaching for the shroud she has left behind. A kneeling woman holds a flower, a nod to the lilies said to have filled the coffin. It has hung above the high altar ever since.