Mary stands peacefully amidst movement that represents confusion, her hands raised in prayer, she stands between the two angels and the Apostles with calm serenity gazing at us. She understands what the Apostles still do not, because she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit since Christ’s conception.She experienced the deep mysteries of her son’s birth, death, resurrection and ascension, offering us peace and knowing of Christ’s return.  

The Apostles look to the heavens, their hands outstretched and waving, asking questions until the very end.  Even though Jesus taught them over the course of three years, the Apostles still had not fully grasped Jesus’ teachings, asking, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts, 1:6) They did not understand the universality of His message to all people.

Iconographer’s strategy.  The iconographer achieved this feeling of confusion by using a geometric structure of transverse lines and angles the create a dynamic structure, or movement.  This silent and hidden structure, coupled by the visually raised arms and faces raised to the sky help convey this sense of disorientation, or confusion.

Mary’s peace comes from divine order.  The Apostles’ confusion is born of worldly reasoning.

Mountains.  Artistically, the Mount of Olives divides the icon in half, the upper region is Heaven and the lower region is Earth, with Mary and the Apostles representing the Church on Earth.

In iconography, mountains signify an important event. Often, their structure “bows” or dips in the direction we should look. In this icon, the mountaintops converge upward toward Christ’s ascension, pointing to Christ as the union between Heaven and Earth.  As He ascends, He takes a bit of Earth with Him.

Mandorla.  The blue circle surrounding Christ is a full body halo or nimbus called a “Mandorla.”  In iconography, a mandorla is reserved only for Jesus and Mary and is often painted in progressive gradients of blue, the color of divinity, with the deepest blue intended to represent the epicenter of the Divine. Here Our Lord is seated inside the deepest blue of His mandorla, surrounded by gold stars and rays of light that are representative of the divine radiance that emanates from His body.

Angels.  Christ’s ascension to Heaven reminds us of Ezekiel’s vision in which the throne of the Lord is supported by angels singing the Sanctus.

Interesting Variations & Anachronism.  Unlike this 16th century icon, many icons of the Ascension do not depict the Apostles with halos yet.  In his Celestial Hierarchies, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (of the 5th century) teaches that the grace of God illuminates the saint and angels, therefore the halo represents the light of the divine grace that suffuses the holy soul in union with God.  Pentecost has not occurred yet, and so the Apostles are often shown without a halo in some icons of the Ascension.

Even though Matthias was appointed the 12th Apostle, he is not traditionally depicted in favor of Paul, even though Paul had not yet experienced his conversion and was not actually present at the Ascension.  Despite the anachronism, Paul’s presence is depicted for his important contribution to the faith.

Below we see an important variation of the Ascension icon.

Notice in the icon below, the Apostles do not yet have their halos, which they will receive with the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The two trees direct our eyes to the two Angels, who point to Christ, leading our eyes to the focal point.

Hymn by St. Romanos the Melodist for the Ascension Feast