Assumption of the Virgin

Oak wood painting attributed to Gregório Lopes, regal painter of D. Manuel I and D. João III and one of the masters of Portuguese sixteenth century painting.

This Assumption is possibly the central panel of a larger set and it depicts the Virgin Mary resting on a crescent moon.

As it is recurrent in many paintings of the first half of the sixteenth century, several angels witness the scene playing diverse musical instruments: shawm, sackbut, bombard, lute and rebec. There is also a group of singing angels holding an open book with what appears to be musical notation.