Marientod, Mitteltafel des sog. Pretschlaipfer-Triptychons

The Master of Großgmain's Marientod — the Death of the Virgin — in the Belvedere is the central panel of what Großgmain calls the Pretschlaipfer Triptych, depicting Mary's peaceful death surrounded by the twelve apostles gathered miraculously from across the world. The Dormition of the Virgin was among the most complex narrative subjects in late medieval altarpiece programs, requiring the painter to show twelve individualized apostles in varied grieving poses around the deathbed. The Großgmain master's treatment shows the Austrian late Gothic school at its most ambitious, managing a difficult multi-figure composition with considerable skill.

Mary lies on her deathbed at the composition's center, twelve apostles arranged around her in varied postures of grief and prayer. The master differentiates the apostles through attribute and physiognomy. The chamber setting uses architectural recession to organize the complex crowd. Light focuses on the dying Virgin's face.