Church of San Niccolò al Carmine
Assumption of the Virgin
Benedetto di Bindo (?) (1389 approx. - 1417)
Early fifteenth century
Along the right wall, a niche closed by an arch with the sixteenth-century representations of Saint Lawrence and Saint Onophrius, houses a fresco depicting the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. The image of the Virgin is completely missing, while other parts of the painting are well preserved, including Saint Lucy, holding a tray with her eyes, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pictured carrying a spiked wheel, one of the instruments of her martyrdom.
The Immaculate Virgin, free from the original sin and from any peccaminous stain, at the end of her life rises with her body and her soul into heavenly glory, leaving behind her sash as the only material evidence of her earthly life. In Heaven she is exalted by the Lord as Queen of the Universe among a chorus of angels.
As Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son assumes into heaven she who gave him life; as the salvation of Christ ends with his body’s resurrection, even Mary’s victory over sin is completed by victory over death through the glorification of her body.