The Descent from the Cross

Rubens's Descent from the Cross is the central panel of a triptych painted by Peter Paul Rubens around 1611 to 1614, according to the sources, and it still hangs in Antwerp Cathedral, the church it was made for. The work was commissioned in 1611 by the Confraternity of the Arquebusiers, whose patron saint was St Christopher, shown on the outer panels carrying the Christ Child across a river. Rubens did not invent the subject. It belonged to an Italian tradition shaped by Mannerism, but his version departs from the more theatrical treatment of those painters: it shows a solemn, almost ritual lowering of the body, carried out with great care by the men around it.

The scene revolves around the dead Christ, stretched across a white linen cloth that acts as the visual axis. St John, in a conspicuous scarlet cloak, supports the weight of the body while standing on a ladder, and Joseph of Arimathea, recognisable by his beard and Jewish cap, holds the cloth from the opposite diagonal. Nicodemus is above them, and two men leaning over the crossbar lower the body; one grips the shroud between his teeth to free his hands. Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleophas kneel at the foot of the cross, while the Virgin stands upright, her grief shown more in her pale face than in her posture. The composition is built on a dominant diagonal running from the man holding the shroud down to the women at the feet, crossed by a counter-diagonal that gives the group the shape of an X.

Rubens works with loose, thick brushwork and strong colour, and uses side light that models the figures almost like sculpture against a shallow space. Foreshortening and chiaroscuro heighten the drama. In keeping with Counter-Reformation thinking, the Virgin appears active and resolute rather than fainting, reflecting the period's emphasis on Mary's role in the Redemption.

Painter

Peter Paul Rubens

Date

1611

Medium

oil paint, panel

Dimensions

421 × 622 cm

Museum

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Descent from the Cross, Jesus Christ, man

Share:FacebookWhatsApp