Christ’s Descent into Limbo

This Christ's Descent into Limbo, around 1516, in the Prado, depicts Christ liberating the righteous souls from limbo after the Crucifixion. Sebastiano's Roman works of this period show the profound influence of Michelangelo in their monumental figure style and dramatic compositions. His figures carry Venetian sensuous richness combined with the overwhelming physical presence that Michelangelo's influence brought to his Roman works. Sebastiano del Piombo's religious paintings demonstrate his unique position in Italian Renaissance art: the fusion of Venetian colorism and atmospheric light with the monumental figure style he developed through his collaboration with Michelangelo, who provided him with figure designs that Sebastiano developed with the full resources of his Venetian color tradition. The combination was unprecedented and unrepeated: only Sebastiano had the specific combination of Venetian training and Michelangelesque influence that produced this particular synthesis. His large religious works for Roman churches were among the most admired pictures of the sixteenth century, and his technical achievement in fresco — unusual for a Venetian-trained painter — extended his monumental manner to wall painting.

The heroic figure of Christ, modeled with Michelangelesque sculptural power, dominates the dark, cavernous space of limbo. The Venetian richness of color and atmospheric depth creates a setting of supernatural drama.