Deposition of Christ (Bronzino)
Deposition of Christ | |
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Musée des Beaux-Arts, Besançon |
The Deposition of Christ is a painting by the Italian artist
History
The painting was originally commissioned to be the
After sending the original to Granvelle in 1545, Cosimo requested a copy for Eleonora's chapel that Bronzino painted eight years later in 1553. The second version is the one found in the Palazzo Vecchio today.[3][6]
To accompany the original altarpiece, Bronzino painted side panels depicting
By 1553, the side panels of the saints were in storage. They were last recorded as being in the Medici inventory in 1609 and both were considered lost until the John the Baptist panel resurfaced in 1951. It is now housed in the Getty Center.[10] A fragment purportedly of the Saint Cosmas panel has recently been rediscovered, but it is suspected to be a forgery associated with art dealer Giulano Ruffini.[11][12]
Composition
In the center foreground is a Pietà portraying the body of Jesus being cradled in his mother Mary's arms. The Apostle John supports his back and is modeled on a youth holding up the body of Christ in a Deposition painted by Bronzino's teacher, Pontormo.[13] Mary Magdalene kneels on the right and supports the feet of Jesus. Her jar of ointment is shown in the far right foreground.[14]
Four holy women mourn on the left and another dressed in green peers over the Virgin's shoulder and stands out prominently because of her hand gesture and location in the center of the panel. Scholars believe this highlighted woman is one of
In addition to the nails held by Joseph, other Arma Christi (instruments of the Passion) are presented throughout the painting. The angels floating above the scene hold the column where Jesus was whipped, the sponge, the lance, and the cross. The crown of thorns is laying in the dirt at John's feet.[17]
The principal figures are attended by two angels, one bearing a chalice and the other lifting a transparent veil. Both of these objects are symbols of the Eucharist. The viewer can best appreciate the sacramental nature of the work by considering its original setting. The two angels are gazing out of the panel towards the sides. In Eleonora's chapel, they would appear to be looking at the frescoes of the story of Moses on the adjacent walls. In particular, the angel on the left would be gazing at a fresco of Moses Striking the Rock and the Gathering of the Manna. The manna and the water pouring from the rock presage the bread and wine used in the Eucharist.[18]
Bronzino's second version, in general, is an accurate copy of the first. The most obvious deviation is the darker, more subdued color. Much of the brilliant blue has been substituted with a drab brown. Toning down the Mannerist lavishness of the original is consistent with the sobriety of the Counter-Reformation and may reflect Eleonora's sensibilities.[2]
Portraiture
In addition to embedding
See also
Notes
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 363.
- ^ a b c Smyth 1997, p. 81.
- ^ a b Bambach, Cox-Rearick & Goldner 2010, p. 142.
- ^ Smyth 1997, pp. 78–79.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 77-78.
- ^ Smyth 1997, pp. 79–81.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 266.
- ^ Smyth 1997, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 88.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 79.
- ^ Spitz 2011.
- ^ Noce 2020.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 153.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 399.
- ^ a b Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 264.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, pp. 194–196.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, p. 192.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, pp. 192–193.
- ^ a b Pilliod 2001, p. 24.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, pp. 262–263.
- ^ Cox-Rearick 1993, pp. 203–212.
References
- Bambach, Carmen C.; Cox-Rearick, Janet; Goldner, George R. (2010). The Drawings of Bronzino. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1588393548.
- Cox-Rearick, Janet (1993). Bronzino's Chapel of Eleonora in the Palazzo Vecchio. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520074807.
- Noce, Vincent (21 January 2020). "Alleged Bronzino seized from the Alana Collection in connection with ongoing Old Master scandal". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- Pilliod, Elizabeth (2001). Pontormo, Bronzino, Allori: A Genealogy of Florentine Art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300085435.
- Smyth, Carolyn (1997). "An Instance of Feminine Patronage in the Medici Court of Sixteenth-Century Florence: The Chapel of Eleonora da' Toledo in the Pallazio Vecchio". In Lawrence, Cynthia (ed.). Women and Art in Early Modern Europe: Patrons, Collectors, and Connoisseurs. University Park, PA: Penn State Press. ISBN 0271019697.
- Spitz, Irving (22 January 2011). "In Florence, a Landmark Exhibition of Bronzino Paintings". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
External links
- The Deposition of Christ (2nd Version) at Google Arts & Culture.
- Bronzino at Artedossier
- Chapel of Eleonora da Toledo at Web Gallery of Art