While the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was only officially made a dogma in the 1950's, belief in the Assumption does, of course, extend back much further into history than this. It was celebrated at least as early as the fourth or fifth century and attesting to the tradition, St. John Damascene, writing in the eighth century, commented as follows:
"St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon, made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven."
With this belief would also come its use within art and the liturgy. In fact, depictions of the Assumption are probably one of the most common religious subjects that can be found within the Latin rite churches
To mark today's feast, I thought we might take a quick look at a few traditional altarpieces coming from various countries and centuries, each of which prominently feature the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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| Lucca, 17th cent. |
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| G. Marracci, second half of 17th cent. |
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| Filialkirche Maria Himmelfahrt, Austria |
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| Padua, 18th century |
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| Detail: "Assunzione della Madonna," A. Maganza, 1603 |
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| Brescia, 18th cent. |
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| Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt, ca. 1715, Bavaria |
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| Triptych of the High Altar of the Basilica of St. Mary, Krakow, Poland. 1477-1489 |
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| 18th cent., Concordia-Pordenone |
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| Chapel of the Assumption, Cathedral of Durango, Mexico * * * |
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Chapel of the Assumption, Seville Cathedral, Spain |
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| Titian. High altar, S. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice |
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| High Altar, Ajaccio Cathedral, France |
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