Assumption of Mary

Cornelis Schut's Assumption of Mary, dated 1648 and held in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady) in Antwerp, occupies one of the most significant religious spaces in Flemish Baroque art. The cathedral was home to Rubens's celebrated triptychs, making it an extraordinarily demanding venue for any painter. The Assumption — Mary's bodily transport into heaven — was the quintessential subject for demonstrating mastery of the floating, heavenward figure in Baroque art. Schut's approach in 1648 draws on his full repertoire: upward-surging composition, clouds and angels bearing the figure aloft, ecstatic witnesses below. The subject was especially charged in this cathedral context, as the building was itself dedicated to Our Lady.

On panel, Schut creates the strong vertical surge essential to Assumption iconography — the Virgin rising, angels lifting, clouds parting. His palette favours warm rosy tones for Mary's garments against cool celestial blues. The lower register anchors the composition with the empty tomb and astonished apostles, while the upper zone opens into golden heavenly light.