Death of the Virgin

Bruegel made this around 1564 not for a church or a rich man's wall, but as a private gift for a friend, the Antwerp mapmaker Abraham Ortelius, who would soon assemble the first modern atlas. It is painted almost entirely in greys, a technique called grisaille, so the whole scene glows like something seen by firelight. The Virgin lies dying in a crowded, ordinary room, the apostles gathered in the gloom, a single candle and the hearth throwing the only light. Ortelius treasured it, and years later had it engraved so friends could own a copy. Only three of Bruegel's grisailles survive, and this quiet, smoky interior is among them.