May Sacred Artwork of the Month: The Ascension by Gustave Doré

Gustave Doré, The Ascension, 1879, Petit Palais.

In many paintings of the Ascension, the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary observe as Christ begins his ascent to heaven. However, these awestruck onlookers are not present in Gustave Doré’s version of the Ascension from 1879. A gap in the clouds reveals the earth growing more distant far below. Doré chose to show the moment when those on earth could no longer see Christ. “And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). Doré takes the viewer behind the cloud, providing a glimpse of hidden splendor.

The Ascension portrays Christ passing into the realm of heavenly glory, greeted by the angels who have been created to adore and serve Him. They surround Christ in a dramatic and swirling motion, leading the eye up and around to finally focus on Him. At the top of the painting, tiny faces recede into indistinct specks, suggesting myriads upon myriads of angels. Their golden hue confirms that this is an otherworldly event, not to be witnessed by the eyes of men.

Doré focuses the action and attention within the scene on Christ, the central figure in the painting. He lifts his arms and gazes upward, preparing to assume His place at the right hand of the Father. St. Peter would write that “[Christ] has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him” (1 Peter 3:22).

Doré’s Ascension constitutes an attempt to convey the magnificence of Christ’s passage from this world to the next. The painting leaves the viewer with the realization that it remains impossible to fathom the grandeur of heaven. “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, / and what has not entered the human heart, / what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Christ told the apostles that he was going to prepare a place for them, and Doré’s Ascension serves as a reminder of the “eternal weight of glory” that awaits us in heaven.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE).