The Death of Mary (Wurzach altarpiece)

Hans Multscher's The Death of Mary (Wurzach Altarpiece), dated 1437 and now in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, is another panel from the same altarpiece cycle as his Pentecost. The Death of Mary — the assembled apostles gathered at the Virgin's deathbed — was a standard subject in altarpiece programs devoted to the Life of the Virgin, and Multscher's version demonstrates his characteristic blend of emotional intensity and physical solidity that marks the transition between the International Gothic and the new Flemish-influenced realism. The Wurzach Altarpiece as a whole is one of the most significant German paintings of the mid-fifteenth century, showing Multscher developing a new visual language for northern European painting.

Multscher renders the apostles with striking individuality, each figure characterized through distinct facial type and gesture. The dying Virgin occupies the compositional center, surrounded by an animated crowd of mourners. The warm, deeply saturated palette and solid figure modeling anticipate the Flemish influence that would transform German painting in the following decades.