The Virgin Mary rises towards heaven, hovering above her tomb surrounded by a host of cherubim. One wingless angel beneath the Virgin’s feet appears to lift the delicate weight with his head. In keeping with tradition, and similarly to Titian’s celebrated Assumption in the Basilica dei Frari, Tintoretto’s Virgin is youthful, her body uncorrupted by age. Some of the apostles’ faces are akin to portraits and may well have been the artist’s patrons.