Assumption of Mary

Painted on copper around 1600 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, this Assumption of Mary represents one of Van Balen's earliest dated works on the copper support that would become his preferred medium for devotional and mythological subjects. The Assumption — the bodily taking up of the Virgin into heaven at her death — was a subject of special importance in Counter-Reformation Catholic art, affirmed as an article of faith and celebrated across Flemish altarpieces and cabinet works alike. Van Balen's copper version would have served as a private devotional object, its small scale and jewel-like finish suited to a domestic oratory or wealthy collector's cabinet. The Kunsthistorisches Museum holds the most encyclopaedic collection of Flemish cabinet paintings on copper outside private hands, and Van Balen's contributions situate him among the leading Antwerp figure painters working in this precious format around 1600.

The copper support gives the paint surface an enamel-like quality that amplifies the luminosity of Van Balen's pale flesh tones and the golden light emanating from the celestial scene above. The Virgin's upward gaze and raised arms are executed with the smooth, polished modelling that distinguishes Van Balen's finest copper works. Angels in the surrounding cloud are painted with thin, rapid brushstrokes that suggest movement against the warm heaven.