Why it matters
The Twelve Apostles crowd around the dying Virgin while Christ appears above her bed in a halo of light. Considered van der Goes's 'most idiosyncratic masterpiece', it is one of the last paintings he completed before his death in 1482.
Did you know?
- It was painted around 1472–1480.
- It was probably commissioned for the Ten Duinen Abbey in Bruges.
- The scene follows the Golden Legend, in which angels bring the apostles to Mary on clouds.
Based on the Wikipedia article Death of the Virgin (van der Goes) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
