Gospel in Art: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Painted by Peter Paul Rubens, 1626© Cathedral of our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 15 August 2023
Luke 1:39-56

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'

And Mary said: 'My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him. He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed the proud of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away. He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy - according to the promise he made to our ancestors - of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.'

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

Reflection on the Altar Painting

Today is the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, where we celebrate Mary being taken up into Heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life. The Assumption (from the Latin word assumptio, 'taking up') was defined by Pope Pius XII as a dogma by the Catholic Church in 1950. Today's painting by Peter Paul Rubens was completed in 1626 as an altarpiece for the high altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium. We see Mary depicted as being 'assumed' or 'taken' into heaven. A choir of angels lifts her in a spiralling motion towards a burst of divine light in the top right corner. Around her earthly tomb are gathered all twelve apostles, alongside Mary Magdalene. The scale of this work is enormous and stands at 490cm.high (16 feet).

Rubens is one of the most important Baroque painters. His highly charged compositions ooze movement, colour, and sensuality. The Counter Reformation had prompted this dramatic style, as an artistic response to the protestant movement. Rubens turned it up a notch and further enhanced the dramatic, theatrical painting style, using long, fluid brush strokes for his figures. What movement we have in this painting! And not only that, but the painting sits perfectly within the large architectural altar setting: from the altar our eyes move up to the apostles, then to Our Lady and then above her to the semi-circular sculpted relief of the Father and Christ in Heaven. Painting and architecture are blending together masterfully.

Today we celebrate the special place that Mary has in the life of our Church. As Saint Augustine put so beautifully: "The world being unworthy to receive the son of God directly from the hands of the Father, he gave his son to Mary for the world to receive him from her."

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-1-39-56-2023/