Mary’s Dormition and Assumption into Heaven
Basic Info
As early Christians tried to sort out the implications of all of the stories in the Bible, they reasoned that Mary was different in some ways from other human beings. After all, she was chosen to bear God’s Son. But how she was different took some thinking, some arguing, and some more thinking. One question that arose was whether she died a normal human death. There is some variation in Christian beliefs on this topic, but for the most part, it is understood that she died normally, her soul went immediately to Heaven, and her body was assumed into Heaven 3 days later. Some traditions say her tomb was found empty after the 3 days.
The word 'Dormition' refers to sleep, but Mary is generally thought to have died, not fallen into some kind of mysterious sleep. Her body’s being taken up to Heaven is known as the 'Assumption' (a passive word) because she could not have ascended to Heaven under her own power like Jesus; God had to actively bring (assume) her body into Heaven.
Sometimes the Assumption was combined with the Woman of the Apocalypse or the Coronation of Mary in the artistic tradition. The Catholic Church holds the story of the Woman of the Apocalypse as being the Biblical warrant for the Assumption.
Historical Notes
The idea of the Dormition or the Assumption doesn’t seem to appear in Christian thought until the 4th century. The icon tradition of the East tends to depict the Dormition. The Western art tradition tends to depict the Assumption. Occasionally the two stories are blended.
What to Look For
- Whether Mary looks dead
- The Apostles around her body or around her tomb (grieving, hopeful, loving, etc.)
- The presence of angels either as she lies dead or as she is being assumed into Heaven (carrying her, floating alongside, etc.)
- The presence of Jesus either at the tomb or in Mary’s Assumption
- The presence of a mini-Mary (her soul) in Jesus’ arms at the Dormition
- Symbols of royalty related to Mary (crown, scepter, etc.)
Questions to Focus a General Interpretation
Does the artwork tend to suggest that Mary slept mysteriously instead of dying, that she died and Jesus took her soul right away, that she died but her body was brought back to life as it was assumed into Heaven, or some combination of these?
Does the artwork seem to relate to the idea of Mary’s being Queen of Heaven?
Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation
This theme invites consideration of human death and the afterlife in a somewhat less threatening vein than Last Judgment images. Does the artwork draw your attention to any particular aspects of death or the afterlife? How do they affirm or challenge what you already believed?
Does the portrayal of Mary in the artwork make her seem similar to other human beings or different from other human beings, including you?
Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation
Does the artwork offer any insight as to whether Mary was seen as human or as dangerously close to divine in the artist’s time and place?
To what extent might the popular attitude toward women in the artist’s time and place be a factor in this artwork?
