The Entombment of Christ
Luca Giordano·c. 1670
Historical Context
The Entombment of Christ at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, painted around 1670, places Giordano in dialogue with one of Italian painting's most demanding subjects. The scene between death and resurrection required the artist to convey Christ's physical weight alongside the spiritual gravity of the moment, while the mourning figures offered a theater for grief ranging from Mary's silent devastation to the raw sorrow of the disciples. Giordano's Neapolitan training gave him particular command of multi-figure dramatic narratives in enclosed spaces, a tradition rooted in Caravaggio and extended by Ribera. The small scale, 68.9 by 80 centimeters, points to a private devotional commission rather than a public altarpiece. By 1670 Giordano was already celebrated enough to attract such intimate commissions from Naples's wealthiest patrons alongside his large church and palace programs.
Technical Analysis
The bearers' straining effort to carry Christ's body creates a composition of physical and emotional weight. Dramatic lighting focuses on the pale corpus while shadows envelop the surrounding figures.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the bearers' straining effort to carry Christ's body: the physical weight of the dead is made visible through the figures' postures and muscular effort.
- ◆Look at the pale corpus as the composition's luminous center: Giordano renders the dead Christ with the same luminous flesh he uses for sleeping gods and dying philosophers.
- ◆Find the dramatic lighting focusing on the corpse while shadows envelop the surrounding figures: the standard chiaroscuro of the Entombment subject is here deployed with full Baroque confidence.
- ◆Observe that Boston's Museum of Fine Arts holds both this Entombment and several other Giordano works — the collection's multiple holdings allow comparison of his handling of related subjects across different periods.
