Assumption of the Virgin

Greek-Spanish artist El Greco painted this monumental Assumption of the Virgin between 1577 and 1579 as the centerpiece of his first major commission in Toledo, an altarpiece for the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. The canvas stands over four meters tall, showing Mary floating upward as apostles gathered around her empty tomb express amazement.

The composition borrows from Titian's Assumption in Venice, which El Greco would have seen during his years in Italy. But his palette is cooler, his figures more elongated, and the emotional intensity more concentrated. This work launched his 37-year career in Toledo, where he developed the distinctive style that made him famous.

In 1906 the Art Institute of Chicago purchased the painting after other American museums rejected it. Curator Rebecca Long calls it the most important pre-Impressionist painting in the collection. A complete conservation in 2017 revealed its original brilliance and inspired a major El Greco exhibition.