The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin

Girolamo da Vicenza's Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin in the National Gallery combines in a single panel two narrative moments — the peaceful death of Mary surrounded by apostles and her bodily raising to heaven — that were often depicted separately in altarpieces. Vicentine painting in the late fifteenth century absorbed influences from the Venetian school and Mantegna's workshop in Mantua, giving local painters a sophisticated vocabulary for complex narrative. This iconographic combination reflects the mature development of Marian theology and the particular devotional traditions of northeastern Italy.

The composition is typically divided vertically or zonally — the dormition scene occupying the lower register, the assumption scene above, with apostles looking upward bridging the two. Girolamo's Venetian training shows in the warm color and competent foreshortening. The heavenly zone above has a different light quality from the earthly scene below.