The painting is open on all sides. In the lower portion hands reaching up from below the image field can be seen. The congregation is being included in the act of burying the St. The sense of belonging to and being affected by the act in progress is strengthened by its open form. The hands extending toward the Saint break the line between the action in the painting and the world in which the congregation inhabited. It is as though the scene were speaking directly to the congregation, beckoning them to participate in reverence.