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TheDescent from the Cross (Greek:Ἀποκαθήλωσις,Apokathelosis), orDeposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts ofJoseph of Arimathea andNicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hiscrucifixion (John 19,John 19:38–42). InByzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the 10th century. The Descent from the Cross is the 13thStation of the Cross, and is also the sixth of theSeven Sorrows of theBlessed Virgin Mary.
Other figures not mentioned in theGospels who are often included in depictions of this subject includeJohn the Evangelist, who is sometimes depicted supporting afainting Mary (as inthe work below by Rogier van der Weyden), andMary Magdalene. The Gospels mention an undefined number of women as watching the crucifixion, includingThe Three Marys, (Mary Salome being mentioned inMark 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]
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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 thePassion of Christ, between theCrucifixion and theEntombment of Christ. TheLamentation of Christ, orPietà, showing the body of Christ held by Mary, may intervene between these two, and is common as an individual image, especially insculpture. TheBearing of the body, showing Christ's body being carried to his tomb, and theAnointing of Christ's body, showing the body laid flat on the top of the tomb or a similarly shaped "anointing-stone" are other scenes that may be shown. This last is especially important in Orthodox art, where it is shown on theEpitaphios.
With the Renaissance the subject became popular foraltarpieces, partly because of the challenges of the composition, and the suitability of its vertical shape. TheMannerist version ofRosso Fiorentino is usually regarded as his most important work, andPontormo's altarpiece is perhaps his most ambitious work. The subject was painted several times by bothRubens andRembrandt, who repeated one of his paintings (now in Munich) in a large print, his only one to be mainlyengraved, as well as making two otheretchings of the subject.
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Media related toDescent from the Cross at Wikimedia Commons
