Celebrated on the 15th of August in the East since the 6th century, the Dormition is one of the twelve major feasts of the Orthodox liturgical year.

For Orthodox Christians, the body of the Virgin Mary, who was conceived without sin and gave birth to Christ, could not have been corrupted by death. The risen Christ, who has come to gather up his mother’s soul in his arms, is standing behind the bed on which she is sleeping.

In Greek and Balkan painting, he is always depicted at the same level as the apostles surrounding the Virgin as a visual representation of the theology of God made man..

City of Paris municipal collection's website

City of Paris municipal collection's website

The collections portal can be used to search the collections of Paris’s 14 municipal museums (approximately 336,000 works, including 43,000 belonging to the Petit Palais).

It is also possible to download around 12,000 images of the museum’s works free of charge.

Access the Museums of the City of Paris collections portal
Autre base documentaire

Extern databases

Discover a selection of databases online presenting works from the Petit Palais or documents concerning the history of the museum.