Altarpiece of Saint Martin - The death of Saint Martin

The Death of Saint Martin depicts the final moments of the Bishop of Tours — who died in 397 CE after a long episcopate reforming Frankish Christianity — surrounded by his clergy and monks. Martin's death was well documented in the early medieval sources, particularly Sulpicius Severus's Life, which described his remarkable calm and the spiritual intensity of his final hours. In altarpiece programmes dedicated to Martin, the death scene balanced the triumphant Charity episode with a meditation on mortality and holy dying as a model for the faithful.

Oil or tempera on panel. Deathbed scenes conventionally place the dying figure horizontal while standing or kneeling attendants surround him — a composition type shared with the Dormition of the Virgin and other holy death subjects. Religious vestments and the gathered clergy provide the visual markers of Martin's episcopal status.