The Entombment

Francesco Francia painted this Entombment around 1500 in Bologna. The placing of Christ's body in the tomb was one of the final scenes of the Passion narrative. Francia's gentle, classicizing treatment brings restraint and dignity to this emotionally charged subject. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

Oil on panel with Francia's signature smooth modeling and warm golden tonality. The mourning figures carry the dead Christ with the composed grief that characterizes Francia's approach to Passion subjects.