Descent from the Cross

Other figures not mentioned in the Gospels who are often included in depictions of this subject include John the Evangelist, who is sometimes depicted supporting a fainting Mary (as in the work below by Rogier van der Weyden), and Mary Magdalene. The Gospels mention an undefined number of women as watching the crucifixion, including The Three Marys, (Mary Salome being mentioned in Mark 15 (Mark 15:40)), and also that the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene saw the burial (Mark 15:47). These and further women and unnamed male helpers are often shown.^[1]

Development of the image

Even in early depictions the details and posing of the composition, and especially the position of Christ's body, are varied. The scene was usually included in medieval cycles of the Life or the

• Deposition of Christ, (c. 1433) by Fra Angelico, in the National Museum of San Marco, Florence.
• Descent from the Cross (c. 1435) by Rogier van der Weyden, in Museo del Prado, Madrid).
• Deposition from the Cross, Filippino Lippi, completed circa 1506, by Pietro Perugino, in the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze (Gallery of the Academy of Florence).
• Deposition from the Cross (1521) by Rosso Fiorentino
  in Pinacoteca of Volterra.
• Santa Felicita, Florence
  .
• Deposition of Christ (1545) by Bronzino in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
• The Descent from the Cross (1612–1614), by Rubens, at the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
• Descent From The Cross (1995–1996), by David Folley, now at the Jesus Chapel, St. Andrew's Church, Wickford, Essex
  .