Deposition from the Cross

Rosso Fiorentino painted this second Deposition from the Cross around 1527, after the catastrophic Sack of Rome had scattered the artistic community and driven him northward. This version—distinct from his famous 1521 Volterra Deposition—shows his mature ability to combine compositional virtuosity with emotional intensity in a more controlled register than the provocative Volterra work. By this point Rosso was ready to accept the invitation to France that would take him to Fontainebleau in 1530, and his late Italian works have a combination of formal elegance and psychological depth that anticipated the sophisticated court style he would develop there. The Deposition's Christ figure, supported by mourning figures in a precisely engineered composition, demonstrates his mastery of the challenging group composition.

The panel demonstrates Rosso's late Italian style with greater compositional stability than his earlier works, while maintaining the emotional intensity and unusual color that define his art.