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Stained Glass
German, 15th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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All of the Gospels agree that Jesus died fairly quickly and that a man named Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and requested the body. 1 We know, therefore, that by the evening hours of Good Friday the body of Jesus had been removed from the cross and hurriedly prepared for burial.
We also know, from all four Gospels, that members of Jesus’ family, including His mother, and several disciples were at Calvary during His death agony. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that they were also there for the removal of the body.
With these basic details in mind artists have imagined the unfolding of this tragic scene, in images known by several names: The Deposition, the Descent from the Cross, The Body of Jesus Taken Down from the Cross, all are valid titles for the same subject.
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From the Taymouth Hours
English (London), 1325-1350
London, British Library
MS Yates Thompson 13, fol. 123v
This early 14th century manuscript shows both the Deposition and, in the bottom margin, a Pieta image.
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Closely related to this subject is the Pieta, in which the body of Jesus is laid on His mother’s lap as she sits on the ground. This in itself has a rich image history, but it is not the subject that we are considering here, however. Here we are looking only at those images that reflect the actual removal of the body from the cross.
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Basilius, Deposition
From The Melisande Psalter
Eastern Mediterranean (Jerusalem), 1131-1143
London, British Library
MS Egerton 1139, fol. 8v
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The
characters with which artists have peopled their images of the subject always include Mary, St.
John and Joseph of Arimathea, always imagined as a mature, even elderly,
man. Others may be Mary Magdalene and
the other holy women who followed Jesus, some of whom are named in the Gospels
as being present at Calvary. There is
almost always at least one additional man, helping with the heavy task of
removing the lifeless body from the cross to which it is nailed.
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| Deposition From the Book of Pericopes of Emperor Henry II German (Reichenau), c. 1007-1012 Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek MS BSB Clm 4452, fol. 108r |
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| Ivory Deposition North Italian, 1180-1200 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
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| Romanesque Painter, Deposition Italian , c.1180 Aquileia, Basilia Crypt |
Drawing inspiration from Byzantine icons, the early images are fairly serene. The emotions are there, especially in the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who reaches out to hold a hand or to kiss the dead face.
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| Deposition, From Picture Bible French (St.Omer, Abbey of St. Bertin), c.1190-1200 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 20v |
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| Crucifixion and Deposition From Psalter of St. Louis and Blanche of Castille French (Paris), c.1225 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Arsenal 1186, fol. 24r |
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| Deposition From a Psalter Italian (Bologna), 1275-1300 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Smith-Lesouef 21, fol. 22 |
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| Master of the Baptism or Master of the Holy Spirit From the Tres belles heures de Notre Dame de Jean de Berry French, c. 1400-1425 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale dr France MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 3093, fol. 216r |
However,
as time and techniques advanced and the display of the emotions became stronger, Mary now prays or
faints from grief. Mary Magdalene too
becomes more prominent and more emotive.
Probably due to her long standing interpretation as the sinful woman who
bathed Christ’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, she is often
seen at the feet of the corpse, touching or even kissing them.
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| From the Livre d'images de Madame Marie Belgian (Hainaut), c.1285-1290 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16252, fol. 40r |
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| Duccio, Deposition Italian, c. 1308-1311 Siena, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo |
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| Pietro Lorenzetti, Deposition Italian, c.1320 Assisi, Church of San Francesco, Lower Church
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| Rogier van der Weyden, Deposition Belgian, c.1435 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Fra Angelico, Deposition Altarpiece (Pala di Santa Trinita) Italian, c. 1437-1440 Florence, Museo di San Marco |
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| Dieric Bouts the Elder, Passion Alarpiece (Center) Dutch, c. 1455 Granada, Museo de la Capilla Real |
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| Jean Bourdichon, Deposition From Hours of Frederic of AragonFrench (Tours), 1501-1504 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10532, fol. 198r |
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| Il Sodoma, Deposition Italian, c. 1510-1513 Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale |
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| Jan Gossart, Deposition Flemish, c.1520 St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
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| Il Rosso Fiorentino, Deposition Italian, 1521 Volterra, Cathedral |
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| Jacopo Pontormo, Deposition Italian, c.1528 Florence, Church of Santa Felicita, Cappella Capponi |
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| Tintoretto, Deposition Italian, c. 1547-1549 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Deposition Central panel of Triptych Flemish, c.. 1612-1614 Antwerp, Vrouwenkahedraal |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Deposition Belgian, 1617 Lille, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Peter Paul Rubens, Deposition Flemish, c.1620 Valenciennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Rembrandt, Deposition Dutch, 1633 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinacotek |
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| Rembrandt, Deposition Dutch, 1634 St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
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| Charles LeBrun, Deposition French, c.1642-1645 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Laurent de la Hyre, Deposition French, 1655 Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts LaHyre rotates the view in this unusual interpretation of the subject. |
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| Gaspar de Crayer, Deposition Flemish, c.1660 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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Jean Jouvenet, Deposition
French, 1697 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
After about the middle of the eighteenth century this strongly Rubenseque theme weakened and many different interpretations of the subject appeared.
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| Giandomenico Tiepolo, Deposition Italian, 1772 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Baron Jean-Baptiste Regnault French, 1789 Versailles, Musée National du Chateau |
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| Eugene Deveria French, 1835 Pau, Musée des Beau-Arts |
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| Arnold Boecklin, Deposition Swiss, c. 1871-1874 Berlin, Nationalgalerie |
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| Theodore Chasseriau, Deposition French, 1852-1855 Paris, Musée d'Orsay |
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| James Tissot, Deposition From The Life of Christ French, 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
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| Eric Gill, The Body of Jesus is Taken From the Cross and Laid in Mary's Bosom English, c. 1913-1918 London, Westminster Cathedral |
© M. Duffy, 2016. Pictures updated 2023.
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1. Matthew 27:57-59; Mark 15:42-45; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition© 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition© 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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