Christ in the tomb

Giovanni del Biondo's Christ in the Tomb (c. 1365) at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin presents the Man of Sorrows, a devotional image type that gained enormous popularity in late medieval Italy as emphasis shifted toward Christ's suffering humanity. Giovanni del Biondo was among the most prolific Florentine painters of the second half of the Trecento, producing altarpieces and devotional panels for churches throughout Tuscany. His work occupies a distinctive position between the Giottesque tradition and the more decorative tendencies of late Gothic painting.

Tempera and gold on panel with the half-length figure of the dead Christ rising from the sarcophagus. The painting displays Giovanni del Biondo's firm, linear draftsmanship and bold coloring, with tooled gold ground and carefully rendered details of Christ's wounds emphasizing the devotional function.