''The Entombment'' is a 1559 oil-on-canvas painting by the

Venetian painter Venetian painting was a major force in Italian Renaissance painting and beyond. Beginning with the work of Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516) and his brother Gentile Bellini (c. 1429–1507) and their workshops, the major artists of the Venetian ...

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

, commissioned by Philip II of Spain. It depicts the

burial of Jesus The burial of Jesus refers to the entombment of the body of Jesus after crucifixion, before the eve of the sabbath described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel narratives, he was placed in a tomb by a councillor of the san ...

in a stone sarcophagus, which is decorated with depictions of

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hāb� ...

and the

binding of Isaac The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isaa ...

. The painting measures and is now in the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

in Madrid. Titian made several other paintings depicting the same subject, including a similar version of 1572 given as a gift to Antonio Pérez and now also in the Prado, and an earlier version of c.1520 made for the

Duke of Mantua During its history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of the House of Canoss ...

and now in the Louvre. The painting is the second of this subject commissioned from Titian by Philip II of Spain. A smaller version of 1557 was lost on its journey to Spain. This second larger version was sent to Spain in 1559 along with Titian's ''

Diana and Callisto ''Diana and Callisto'' is a painting completed between 1556 and 1559 by the Italian late Renaissance artist Titian. It portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana discovers that her maid Callisto has become pregnant by Jupiter. The paintin ...

'' and ''

Diana and Actaeon The myth of Diana and Actaeon can be found in Ovid’s ''Metamorphoses''. The tale recounts the unfortunate fate of a young hunter named Actaeon, who was a grandson of Cadmus, and his encounter with chaste Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana ...

'', arrived at

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

in 1574, where it was displayed in the Iglesia Vieja (Old Church) beside two other paintings by Titian: his ''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...

'' and his 1567 second version of ''

Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence ''Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence'' is an early sculpture by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It depicts the saint at the moment of his martyrdom, being burnt alive on a Gridiron (cooking), gridiron. According to Bernini's biographer, Filippo ...

''. Titian copies elements of this painting in his later 1572 version given to Antonio Pérez.

Description

Five figures are shown accompanying the body of Christ, three of whom place Christ into the tomb: holding Christ's body is

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John: * He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings (). * The second time Nicodem ...

, the Jewish elder that secretly visited Jesus at night to learn about his teachings., while the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

with her distinctive blue robe is holding one of Christ's arms, and at his feet is

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several t ...

. Nicodemus bears the traits of the artist himself. This could have been inspired by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

's idea in his unfinished '' Deposition'' from 1550, depicting himself as Nicodemus, supporting the body of Christ, displayed in the cathedral in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. The scene also depicts

Mary Magdelene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, to the right in a white robe with red hair, and

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

, standing behind Mary with hands clasped. The stone sarcophagus resembles examples from Ancient Rome. The unusual depiction of the Virgin, assisting with the entombment, is not mentioned in the Gospel accounts, and may derive from by

Pietro Aretino Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his time and a ...

's 1538 book ''I quattro libri de la humanità di Christo''. The painting exhibits a style under development by Titian at the time, characterized by the use of broad brushwork and brilliant colours. It is now in the permanent collection of the Museo del Prado, Madrid. File:Tizian 028.jpg, '' The Entombment of Christ'', c.1520, Louvre File:Tizian 027.jpg, ''The Burial of Christ'', 1572, Prado File:Adoración de los Reyes Magos, de Tiziano (Museo del Prado).jpg, ''Adoration of the Magi'', 16th century, Prado File:Titian - Martyrdom of St Lawrence - WGA22837.jpg, ''

'', 1567, El Escorial

References

Bibliography

*Augusto Gentili, ''Tiziano'', editore Giunti, 1990

External links

Works by Titian in the collection of the Museo del Prado No. P440

The Burial of Christ, 1559
Prado
The Burial of Christ, 1572
Prado
''The Entombment of Christ''
c.1520, Louvre
Adoration of the Magi
16th century, Prado {{DEFAULTSORT:Entombment, The 1559 paintings Paintings by Titian in the Museo del Prado

Paintings of the Virgin Mary Nicodemus Joseph of Arimathea Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene