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Titian, Burial of Jesus Italian, 1572 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
All four of the Gospels tell us about the burial of Jesus
after the Crucifixion. They tell us
that there was a sense of urgency because it was late on a Friday and the
Sabbath was about to begin. They tell us
that His body was wrapped in a linen cloth and laid in a newly hewn tomb in the
rock near the place where He died. John adds the detail that spices
were brought by a man named, Nicodemus, and that the spices were incorporated
in the linen wrappings. But one receives
the impression that it was an emotion charged, hurried burial, probably a bit
tense as well. And the three Synoptic
Gospels include the fact that there were women among the group who made note of
the location and intended to return as soon as the Sabbath was over to do a better
job of honoring His body.1
The earliest images of the burial of Jesus take pains to
include many of these Gospel details.
They show the linen cloth and often the spices being poured. Although the figures do show emotion, it is
kept firmly under control. At the beginning only men were depicted attending to the
burial. Later, the Virgin Mary and then
the other women were added.
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| Jesus is Laid in the Tomb From the Gospels of Otto III German (Reichenau), c. 1000 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS BSB Clm 4453, fol. 250v |
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| Jesus Laid in the Tomb From the Book of Pericopes of Emperor Henry II German (Reichenau), c. 1007-1012 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS BSB Clm 5442, fol. 108r |
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Burial of Jesus
Italian, 1086-1100
Rome, Church of Sant'Urbano alla Caffarella
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Burial of Jesus, From the Ingeborg Psalter
French, c.1195
Chantilly, Musée Condé
MS 9
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| Burial of Jesus From a Psalter German (Augsburg), 1230-1255 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 280, fol. 8r |
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Burial of Jesus, From Psalter and Book of Hours
Belgian (Liege), c.1250-1300
The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek
MS KB 76 G 17, fol. 184r
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| Burial of Jesus, From Livre d'images de Madame Marie Belgian (Hainaut), 1285-1290 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 41v |
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| Burial of Jesus, From Picture Bible French (St. Omer, Abbey of St. Bertin), c.1290-1300 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F5, fol. 21v |
By the early fourteenth century the spice jar has disappeared for
the most part and the scene has become one of intense emotion. The participants weep, the throw themselves on the body,
they raise their hands in the air, they kiss parts of the body. One can almost hear the wailing coming from
the painted mouths.
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| Duccio, The Body of Jesus Laid in the Tomb From the Maesta Italian, c. 1308-1311 Siena, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo |
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Giotto, Burial of Jesus Italian, c. 1320-1325 Settignano, Berenson Collection |
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| Pietro Lorenzetti, Burial of Jesus Italian, c.1320 Assisi, Church of San Francesco, Lower Church |
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Simone Martini, Burial of Jesus Italian, c. 1335-1344 Berlin, Gemldegalerie der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| Taddeo Gaddi, Burial of Jesus Italian, c1335-1340 Florence, Church of Santa Croce, Cappella di Bardi di Vernio |
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| Giovanni di Benedetto and Collaborators, Burial of Jesus From a Book of Hours Italian (Milan), c.1385-1390 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 757, fol. 91 |
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Master of Flemalle, Burial of Jesus From the Seilern Triptych (central panel) Flemish, 1410-1420 London, Courtauld Gallery |
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| Michelino de'Molinari de Besozzo, Burial of Jesus From a Prayer Book Italian, 1425-1435 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 944, fol. 24v |
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| Jean Fouquet, Burial of Jesus From the Hours of Etienne Chevalier Chantilly, Musée Condé MS 71, fol. 20 |
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| Master of the Autun Triptych, Burial of Jesus French, c. 1512-1530 Dole, Musée des Beaux-Arts
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Most images from the Middle Ages up to the early sixteenth
century show the body of Jesus stretched out on or held over a sarcophagus-type
tomb, with a few exceptions. The
exceptions come to us from the minds of some exceptional artists such as Fra
Angelico, Rogier van der Weyden and Michelangelo.
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| Fra Angelico, Burial of Jesus Italian, c. 1438-1440 Munich, Bayerisches Gemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakotek |
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Rogier van der Weyden, Burial of Jesus Flemish, 1450 Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi |
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| Michelangelo, Burial of Jesus Italian, 1500-1501 London, National Gallery |
They show us a rather awkward image in which
the limp body of Christ, supported by someone standing behind, is held up for a
full length frontal view. This image
probably draws on the iconographic tradition of the Man of Sorrows,2 presenting
us with a full-length version instead of the more traditional half-length.
However, the general direction of artists, beginning with
Raphael, is to show us, not a static pause for lamentation before burial, but
the sheer fact of manipulating a corpse.
They show us the struggle to carry the limp body and to place it in the
tomb. Christ’s body sags, His arms hang
down, His dead flesh resists the efforts to restrain it. The helpers strain against the weight, the dead weight. The deadness of the dead Christ is
emphasized.
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| Titian, Burial of Jesus Italian, c. 1525 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
.jpg) |
| Giorgio Vasari, Burial of Jesus Italian, 1532 Arezzo, Casa Vasari |
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| Tintoretto, Burial of Jesus Italian, 1592-1594 Venice, San Giorgio Maggiore |
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| El Greco, Burial of Jesus Greco-Spanish, late 1560s Athens, Alexandros Soutzos Museum |
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| Caravaggio, Burial of Jesus Italian, c. 1600-1604 Vatican, Vatican Museums, Pinacoteca |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Burial of Jesus Flemish, c. 1615-1616 London, Courtauld Gallery |
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| Nicolas Tournier, Burial of Jesus French, c. 1632-1635 Toulouse, Musée des Augustins |
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| Rembrandt, Burial of Jesus Dutch, c.1635 Glasgow, Hunterian Art Gallery |
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| Paolo Naldini, Burial of Jesus Italian, c. 1651-1700 Rome, Church of San Marcello al Corso |
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| Guercino, Burial of Jesus Italian, 1656 Chicago, Art Institute |
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| Adriaen van der Werff, Burial of Jesus Dutch, 1703 Munich, Alte Pinakotek |
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Joseph Thomas Chautard, Burial of Jesus French, 1866 Pau, Musée nationale du chateau de Pau |
This is also the period during which artists gave us many images of the dead Christ in the tomb as well as the
most glorious images of the Risen Christ.
Taken together these images emphasize the story of redemption. He was truly dead and now is risen.
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| Rosso Fiorintino, Dead Christ with Angels Italian, c. 1524-1526 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
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| Veronese, Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels Italian, 1587-1589 Berlin, Staatliche Museen |
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| Philippe de Champaigne, Dead Christ French, Before 1654 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
By the mid-nineteenth century, however, the mood began to
change and the personal grief of the mourners came to the fore once again,
although expressed in less extravagant gestures than in the late medieval
period.
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| Jules Joseph Meynier, Return from Calvary French, 1873 Pau, Musée national du Chateau de Pau Here the actual burial is placed in the background. |
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| James Tissot, The Anointing Stone From The Life of Christ French, c. 1888-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
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| James Tissot, The Body of Jesus Carried to the Tomb From The Life of Christ French, c. 1888-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
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| Maurice Denis, Burial of Jesus French, 1903 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Musée Maurice Denis, La Prieure |
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| Eric Gill, The Body of Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb English, 1913-1918 London, Westminster Cathedral |
© M. Duffy, 2016. Pictures updated 2023.
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1. Matthew 27:59-61; Mark 15:46-47; Luke 23: 53-56;
John 19:39-42
2. For the Man of Sorrows, see http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2012/04/meditation-on-passion-man-of-sorrows.html
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