Assumption of the Virgin

Borne aloft by eight angels with multicoloured wings, the crowned Virgin Mary rises above a mountainous landscape rendered in hazy shades of blue and green. Bening took his inspiration for this composition from a miniature painted by the Vienna Master of Mary of Burgundy, an inventive Flemish illuminator who was active from about 1470 to 1480. Although Bening designed the image, most of the painting was probably assigned to an assistant.

The 'trompe-l'œil' border, decorated with rosaries, offers a dramatic close up in contrast to the receding image of the central panel. Some of the rosaries are attached to finger rings and others to swags of foliage.