The Entombment of Christ

Label

Featured in very high relief, the figures of this scene stand almost free from the background. The depth of the relief adds drama to the emotional moment when Christ is laid to rest by his mother and his followers. Little of the surface is left empty; the scene is filled with emotive figures, swirling clouds, and rocky outcroppings. The extensive detailing of the composition makes it active and encourages the spectator to linger. The scale of the relief, larger than a plaquette but smaller than an altarpiece produced for churches, suggests that it was made for private devotion and perhaps hung on a wall. Unlike smaller examples, this sculpture represents a significant commission in terms of artistic skill and material scale. Such an emotional and dynamic composition would suit 17th-century Catholic audiences, which used images as a focus for reflection and prayer.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

History 42.01, Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies 22.01, Gender & European Society, Patrick Meehan, Spring 2024

History 96.39, Saints and Relics, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Spring 2024

Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Noemi Perego, Spring 2024

Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Tania Convertini, Spring 2024

Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Spring 2024

Exhibition History

Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 17-July 18, 2001.

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Publication History

Roger Arvid Anderson, The Roger Arvid Anderson Collection, Medals, Medallions, Plaquettes and Small Reliefs, Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper and Textiles, San Francisco: Roger Arvid Anderson (published privately), design by David L. Wilson, 2015, p. 263.

Provenance

Acquired by Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, date unknown; lent to present collection,1997; sold to present collection, 2016.

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