The Assumption

This canvas is closely related to the painting of the same subject, The Assumption, which Liška delivered for the high altar of the Cistercian monastic church in Osek, and it can be considered an ideal sketchy design. Its composition is interesting – the Assumpta, usually depicted at the top of the image, is placed in the centre of the action in this case, forming a link between the earthly and heavenly spheres. The pictorial surface is made dynamic by a great number of figures, whirling along the uprising curves. Light is also very important in forming the composition, accentuating the dominant points of meaning – the lit empty tomb surrounded by old men, the figure of God’s Mother, who is simultaneously presented as an apocalyptic woman, dressed in sunrays, and the Holy Trinity, welcoming the Virgin.