The Assumption of the Virgin

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (c. 1488–1576) — 1516–1518 · Oil on panel · Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

“Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.” — Psalm 132:8 (KJV)

About

Titian's Assumption (1516–1518), over six metres tall, still towers over the high altar of the Frari in Venice: Mary rises on a cloud borne by angels, arms lifted to God the Father leaning out of golden heaven, the apostles below reaching up with their whole bodies.

The Meaning

Venice's church taught from this altarpiece that Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven, the first fruit of the resurrection promised to all believers. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body itself is the panel's engine: God raises flesh, beginning — in Catholic teaching — with the mother of the Lord.

For Us Today

Set your affections where this picture points — upward. Whatever we believe about Mary's destiny, the panel's pull is Scripture's pull: our conversation is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and the believer's future is bodily life with God, not escape from Him.

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.