8. The Dormition / The Assumption

The eighth film in the series focusing on one of Christianity’s central figures: The Virgin Mary.

It focuses on The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin, discussing Giotto’s The Dormition of the Virgin (c.1310) and Andrea del Castagno’s The Assumption of the Virgin with two Saints (1449–50), both in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin; and Bartolomé Bermejo’s The Dormition of the Virgin (c.1460–62) in the Bode-Museum, Berlin.

Presented by VCS Director Professor Ben Quash and Deputy Director Dr Jennifer Sliwka.

Artworks: Giotto, The Dormition of the Virgin, c.1310, Tempera and gold leaf on poplar wood, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Kat. Nr. 1884; Andrea del Castagno, The Assumption of the Virgin with two Saints, 1449–50, Poplar wood, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Kat. Nr. 47A; Bartolomé Bermejo, The Dormition of the Virgin, c.1460–62, Oak, Kat. Nr. 552, Bode-Museum, Berlin.

Part of the Series Unlocking Christian Art. Produced in partnership with the National Museums in Berlin, these short films tell the story of the Virgin Mary with the help of the treasures of the Bode-Museum and the Gemäldegalerie, both sculpture and painting. These films are designed to equip users to understand, read, and enjoy some of Europe’s greatest works of Christian art, as well as the texts that inspired them, and to encourage fresh interpretation and insight in today’s audiences.