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Although no mention is made of the death of the Virgin Mary in the Bible, the theme was very popular in 15thcentury German art. This is shown by the importance of the subject in Marian cycles, as well as by the Catholic belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, which would explain Her corporeal assumption to heaven. Most depictions of the scene evoke a prosperous domestic environment characteristic of the period in which the work was produced. According to the legend, the apostles were summoned and mira -culously arrived from the distant lands where they were preaching to witness the event; they appear praying, reading and performing the various tasks involved in taking care of the dying. Among those present we recognise Saint John and Saint Peter, and possibly also Saint Luke. The Evangelist and physician completes the group of twelve apostles in other works of the same period.

The relief is probably an inner panel of a door of a large altarpiece, and might have been the final episode in a cycle of four reliefs depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin. The altarpiece box was presumably decorated with figures of saints or a scene such as the Coronation of the Virgin. The relief was probably mounted on a painted panel that has not been identified, as neither have been the other parts of the altarpiece. The way the surface has been treated and other details make it clear that the work was polychrome, as were most German sculptures of that period. We may also imagine that behind the openwork in the carved stained-glass windows that appear in the background was a gilt or painted surface. Until Luther's Reformation, altarpiece doors in Germany were only opened on the great festivities of the ecclesiastical year, when the abundant gold of their interior decoration shone brightly. This high quality relief was probably carved in Eastern Bavaria, in an area between the cities of Landshut, Passau and Salzburg. (Matthias Weniger)

Selected bibliography

• La paz y la guerra en la época del Tratado de Tordesillas [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Electa, 1994. p. 192.
• Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : maestros antiguos y modernos. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa = Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa Fundazioa, 1999. p. 72.
• Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Maestros antiguos y modernos en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2001. p. 24.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 23.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 23.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 23.
• Weniger, Matthias. "Ama Birjinaren iragaitza eta Santa Ana, Ama Birjina eta Haurra : Alemaniako bi lan gotiko berantiar, Bilboko Arte Eder Museoan = La Dormición de la Virgen y Santa Ana, la Virgen y el Niño : dos obras tardogóticas alemanas en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao = The Dormition of the Virgin and Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child : Two Late Gothic artworks from Germany at the Bilbao Fire Arts Museum", B'08 : Buletina = Boletín = Bulletin, n° 4. 2009. pp. 15-65.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 22, n° cat. 11.
• Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 22, n° cat. 11.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 22.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 22.
• 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 44-45, sin n° cat.
• 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 44-45, sin n° cat.
• 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 44-45, sin n° cat.
• 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 44-45, sin n° cat.