The Deposition

Francesco Bacchiacca painted this Deposition around 1515, depicting the removal of Christ's body from the cross in a composition that reflects his characteristic synthesis of Florentine figure traditions and northern European print imagery. Bacchiacca was among the most eclectic Florentine painters of the period, drawing on Perugino, Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, and particularly the Flemish and German engravings that circulated through Florentine workshops. His Deposition compositions show knowledge of the great northern treatments by Rogier van der Weyden and its Italian descendants, combined with the architectural figure groupings learned from Florentine masters. The emotional intensity of the mourning figures reflects his northern sources while the figure types remain emphatically Italian.

The panel shows Bacchiacca's characteristic precision with carefully observed details and the jewel-like color that distinguished his work, applied here to the dramatic multi-figure Deposition composition.