Assumption of the Virgin by El Greco

At the Art Institute of Chicago there is a monumental work by El Greco entitled The Assumption Of The Virgin" which hangs prominently in the Mannerist Galleries. This work of art (considered by the museum it's greatest "Old Masters" treasure) was originally housed in the church of Santo Domingo, Toledo, Spain.

As you enter the gallery this piece dominates a gallery that is already filled with other prominent works of art from the same period. However, the dramatic affect created by El Greco with this piece is of a higher level than the other works in the gallery. Notably the first thing that you notice is that the painting is curved at the top since is was installed in a church. Second, the height and scale of the work command respect which draws the viewer closer to the work.

Art Institute

Now as we examine this piece we have a scene here with the Virgin ascending upwards into heaven on a crescent moon (one would hope that El Greco knew that the moon was round). Mary as you can expect dominates the painting but in an interesting manner. Looking at the painting you will see that the work is really two piece in one co-joined by the Virgin. The first scene is of the tomb and apostles surrounding it in amazement with the tomb vividly rendered with its top removed and laid aside (you can see the corner of the top pointing upwards to the Virgin, a brilliant way of bringing the two scenes together).

This bottom scene is broken up into two parts, that of the tomb itself and then the group of apostles to the right of it. The group is separated by the lid of the tomb with stand between them. The atmosphere around the mourners is dark and outlines the figures clearly delineating their figures. This dark tone gives structural support to the painting which gets lighter as you look upwards towards heaven. There are no dark tones at all in the upper section of the piece.

The upper scene is of heaven with attending angels and nymphs ready to receive the Virgin. This scene is sunny and light with a positive feeling to it, unlike the gloomy uncertainty that prevails in the lower scene. Between the two scenes is a host of clouds as a sort of cushion for the heavenly hosts and Mary. The most interesting element in this work is Mary's figure that connects the two scenes. This is the master stroke of the piece for most artists would struggle in making Mary look natural in the setting because when you attempt to co-join scenes with an image that image usually pays the price of becoming stylized and not part of either scene. This is not the case at all here, Mary joins both scenes together beautifully.

Stephen F. Condren - Artist

Assumption of the Virgin by El Greco