The Death of the Virgin

Caravaggio's The Death of the Virgin depicts the end of life of the Virgin Mary through a highly physical and humanistic way. The painting has a massive vertical composition where the lifeless body of the Virgin is shown stretched horizontally on a simple bed. She is wearing a red robe, and her head is hanging loosely to the side as well as one arm of hers lying loosely across the edge of the bed. Her feet are shown bare and her heavy body indicates the physical aspect of death rather than the idealized or spiritualized depiction of the same. Her divine identity is shown by means of a small halo placed above her head, which is the only hint that the woman depicted is a virgin. The apostles have gathered in front of the bed of the Virgin where their bodies are focused on the Virgin herself. This composition is used to guide the viewers' gaze towards the Virgin while creating a collective mourning scene. Some of the apostles' faces are hidden under darkness or with their hands while others are expressing their grief through actions rather than facial expressions. Mary Magdalene is isolated visually from the rest of the apostles, and she is sitting in the foreground with her head bent in her hands. The top part of the picture is occupied by a huge red curtain, which appears as if hung above the mourners. Its shape resembles that of the figures depicted and adds to the enclosed space of the picture. A concentrated light source coming from the top left part of the picture highlights Mary's body and the faces and heads of the apostles. Due to darkness around, the figures look especially striking against the background. The darkness inherent in Caravaggio’s tenebrism makes the atmosphere even more intense. In general, the picture is full of a feeling of great stillness and grief. Unlike other paintings on the same theme, this one is more concentrated on the earth rather than the miracle of going up into heaven.