The Death of the Virgin

This work is linked to a quotation from the gospel of John, chapter 19 verse 27 (during the crucifixion):
"Then saith he to the disciple, “Behold thy mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

Its rainbow is painted in the correct, Newtonian order, suggesting that it was painted before Blake switched to inverted rainbows in about 1803.

The Death of the Virgin (1803) refers to an apocryphal account of the death of the Virgin Mary,

This work is watercolour on paper, measures 37.8 x 37.1 cm,  and is housed in The Tate Gallery