Peter Paul Rubens, 'Modello' for the Ascension of Mary, c. 1622 - 1625
This is not a finished painting, but an oil sketch. Rubens made it as a "modello" or design for a huge altarpiece in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. With this he showed his patrons what his plans were. Rubens painted Mary's ascension as a whirling movement: from the stone sarcophagus, Mary floats in a cloud of angels toward heaven where she is crowned. The scene is given added momentum by the swift and powerful strokes of Rubens' hand
