The Deposition (Raphael)
Entombment, Pala Baglione | |
---|---|
Artist | Raphael |
Year | 1507 |
Type | Oil on wood |
Dimensions | 184 cm × 176 cm (72 in × 69 in) |
Location | Galleria Borghese, Rome |
The Deposition, also known as the Pala Baglioni, Borghese Entombment or The Entombment, is an oil painting by the
The Commission
In the early part of the 16th Century, violence among factions, mostly in the form of hand-to-hand combat, was relatively common in
This was the last of several major commissions by the young Raphael for Perugia, the home city of his master
Preparatory studies
Raphael made numerous preparatory sketches or drafts as his idea for the composition evolved (several are on Wikimedia Commons - see link below). He started with the subject of a
Analysis
Giorgio Vasari, the famous biographer of Italian artists, also understood Raphael's piece as a narrative painting. Having seen the altarpiece in its original setting, Vasari gives a detailed description:
In this most divine picture there is a Dead Christ being borne to the Sepulcher, executed with such freshness and such loving care, that it seems to the eye to have been only just painted. In the composition of this work, Raffaello imagined to himself the sorrow that the nearest and most affectionate relatives of the dead one feel in laying to rest the body of him who has been their best beloved, and on whom, in truth, the happiness, honor, and welfare of a whole family have depended. Our Lady is seen in a swoon; and the heads of all the figures are very gracious in their weeping, particularly that of St. John, who, with his hands clasped, bows his head in such a manner as to move the hardest heart in pity. And in truth, whoever considers the diligence, love, art and grace shown by this picture, has great reason to marvel, for it amazes all who behold it, what with the air of the figures, the beauty of the draperies, and in short, the supreme excellence that it reveals in every part.[13]
Vasari takes a reverential tone in describing The Entombment, taking great care to discuss not only the important figures in the painting, but also their effect on the viewer. Looking at it formally, the scene depicted is actually neither the Deposition nor the Entombment, but located somewhere in-between. We can determine this through the background: on the right is Mount Calvary, the location of the Crucifixion and Deposition, and on the left is the cave where the Entombment will take place. And so two men, lacking halos, use a piece of linen to carry the dead Christ and it seems as if all the participants in the bearing of the body are in suspended animation.[14] The two men and Christ form very strong diagonals in the shape of a V. The younger man on the right holding Christ is posited to be a representation of the slain youth, Grifonetto himself.[1] Besides the two men carrying the body, we have St. John and Nicodemus behind and to the left and Mary Magdalene holding the hand of Christ. The legs of St. John and Nicodemus do present a distracting problem, especially in the case of Nicodemus because due to the obstruction of the view, it is not clear what he is exactly doing, or what he is exactly looking at.[15]
On the far right, in the other figural group slightly behind the action, are the three Marys supporting the
The Altarpiece
As stated above, the altarpiece consisted of more than just the main panel. The top molding (now in the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia) had a panel of "God the Father in a glory of
Paintings influenced by Raphael's deposition
-
The Deposition of ChristFriedrich Overbeck(1814)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d Baldini 106
- ^ Pedretti 102
- ^ Jones and Penny 40
- ^ Baldini 106, Jones and Penny 40
- ^ Jones and Penny 41
- ^ a b Ames-Lewis 144
- ^ Jones and Penny 14-17, 40-47
- ^ Pendretti 102
- ^ drawing
- ^ drawing
- ^ Jones and Penny, p. 43
- ^ a b c Capellen 216
- ^ Capellen 214
- ^ Capellen 215
- ^ Jones and Penny 47
- ^ Jones and Penny 46
- ^ Baldini 107
- ^ a b Pedretti 104
References
- Ames-Lewis, Francis (1986). The Draftsman Raphael. New Haven: Yale UP.
- Baldini, Nicoletta (2005). Raphael. New York: Rizzoli.
- Capellen, Jürg Meyer zur (2001). Raphael a critical catalogue of his paintings. Landshut: Archos.
- Capellen, Jürg Meyer zur (1996). Raphael in Florence. New York: Art Books International.
- Jones, Roger; Nicholas Penny (1983). Raphael. New Haven: Yale UP.
- Pedretti (1998). Raphael. Florence: Giunti Gruppo Editoriale.
Further reading
- "Raphael's Altar-Pieces in S. Francesco al Prato, Perugia: Patronage, Setting and Function", Donal Cooper, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 143, No. 1182 (Sep., 2001), pp. 554–561
External links
- Media related to Deposizione Borghese by Raffaello Sanzio in Galleria Borghese (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons