The Deposition of Christ
Relief
ca. 1540 (made)
ca. 1540 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Here two men are lowering the body of Christ from the Cross. They are probably Joseph of Arimathea, on the left, and Nicodemus, standing on the ladder to the right. Originally a third figure also helped. Only the sleeve and left hand of this figure now survive. You can see them behind Christ's head and above his back.
The relief would have originally formed part of a Passion altarpiece, such as the altarpiece in Botkyrka, Sweden, made in Antwerp around 1520-1530. The style of this piece is similar to the work of Pieter Coecke van Aelst and his workshop in Antwerp. This workshop was becoming increasingly influential by the late 1530s.
The relief would have originally formed part of a Passion altarpiece, such as the altarpiece in Botkyrka, Sweden, made in Antwerp around 1520-1530. The style of this piece is similar to the work of Pieter Coecke van Aelst and his workshop in Antwerp. This workshop was becoming increasingly influential by the late 1530s.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Deposition of Christ (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Carved oak, with later overpainting |
| Brief description | Oak, The deposition of Christ |
| Physical description | Wooden fragment depicting the Deposition of Christ. The body of Christ is shown being lowered from the cross by two men. The ground is scored with a series of roughly incised parallel lines an at the foot of the cross there is a large flower. The relief is constructed from two pieces of wood, joined together vertically in a line running down the left arm of the cross, through Christ's head and down the back of the figure to Christ's left. On the back of the relief eight round holes, two oak plugs and two old nails provide evidence of fixing to a separate back-ground. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Miss E. Rothwell, in memory of Mr W. E. Miller |
| Object history | Given to the museum by Mrs E. Rothwell in 1940. The polychromy does not appear to be original.Six cross-sections of the polychrome layers were taken from different areas of the sculpture, all of which consist of gesso and, above, layers containing modern pigments. |
| Historical context | The relief would have originally formed part of a Passion altarpiece, such as the altarpiece in Botkyrka, Sweden, made in Antwerp around 1520-1530. The style of this piece is similar to the Mannerist work of Pieter Coecke van Aelst and his workshop in Antwerp. This workshop was becoming increasingly influential by the late 1530s. For the development of the iconography of The Deposition, see Schiller, G. Iconography of Christian Art, London 1972. For a comparable relief of the Lamentation of Christ see Sotheby's Sale, London, 12 December 2003, lot 143. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Here two men are lowering the body of Christ from the Cross. They are probably Joseph of Arimathea, on the left, and Nicodemus, standing on the ladder to the right. Originally a third figure also helped. Only the sleeve and left hand of this figure now survive. You can see them behind Christ's head and above his back. The relief would have originally formed part of a Passion altarpiece, such as the altarpiece in Botkyrka, Sweden, made in Antwerp around 1520-1530. The style of this piece is similar to the work of Pieter Coecke van Aelst and his workshop in Antwerp. This workshop was becoming increasingly influential by the late 1530s. |
| Bibliographic reference | Williamson, Paul, Netherlandish Sculpture 1450-1550, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002. 160p., ill. ISBN 1851773738. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.47-1940 |
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| Record created | December 11, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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