Death of the Virgin Mary

The angel appearing to the Virgin Mary in a huge glow brings a palm spray to her from Heaven and announces that on the third day she will leave her body and her Son will accept her into Heaven. The angel promised to assemble the apostles. John, who was brought from Ephesus by a white cloud, was praying to God upon the arrival of other apostles who then gathered around Mary.

The bed in which the Virgin Mary is lying is situated on diagonal in the space and through this she is elevated in it above other kneeling or bending figures in sorrow arranged around her. Angels descend from the clouds through the construction of tectonic parts of architecture in a glowing light. The spatial objects are arranged to create a relation among the illuminated parts, the assembly of figures coming
from above on one hand and the meaningful part of the plot situated in the center.

The traditional image of the death of the Virgin Mary was more devotional than narrative with the bed placed parallel to the canvas and the symmetrically arranged contemplating figures. Caravaggio (1571–1610) offered a new vision in his implementation for the Church of Madonna della Scala in Rome, but it was soon rejected by the administrators and replaced by the notorious and frequently copied painting by Carlo Saraceni (around 1579–1620). Antonio Merli also used his idea as a starting point. 

The inscription engraved in the underframe of the canvas presents almost an forgotten artistic personality (if it truly pertains to the authorship); it also bears a collector’s mark in red wax (to date unidentified). It is known that Antonio Merli worked in Rovig. His painting, The Virgin Mary Liberates Francesco Benato from Captivity by Two Attackers is situated in the local church of Madonna del Soccorso.

Zuzana Ludiková ● LUDIKOVÁ, Zuzana - BURAN, Dušan. Talianska maľba = Italian Painting. Bratislava : Slovenská národná galéria, 2013. 242 strán. ISBN 9788080591748.