The Assumption of the Virgin, c. 1510

This pen and ink sketch depicts the Virgin Mary in the upper register, rising toward the celestial realm on a bank of clouds. Below, a group of Apostles is clustered around her empty tomb, looking upward and gesturing in amazement. The drawing uses quick, fluid lines to capture the movement of the figures between the earthly and divine planes.

This depiction of the Assumption aligns with the Neoplatonic concept of the soul's ascent (anabasis) and its return to the divine source, a theme central to the intellectual circles of High Renaissance Rome. The composition illustrates the philosophical transition from the material world of the Apostles to the spiritual realm represented by the Virgin's elevation.