Resurrection of Christ

Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo painted this Resurrection of Christ around 1525, depicting Christ's emergence from the tomb in the standard format of the triumphant risen savior surrounded by the sleeping or terrified soldiers assigned to guard the sealed tomb. The Resurrection was among the most theologically central subjects in Christian devotional painting, its assertion of Christ's triumph over death providing the foundation for the Christian doctrine of salvation. Garofalo's treatment combines the Raphaelesque formal clarity that characterized all his devotional work with the dynamic movement required by the Resurrection subject—Christ risen and triumphant, the soldiers in various states of stupefaction. His warm Ferrarese palette and careful figure construction give the subject both visual richness and the theological seriousness appropriate to its central place in Christian doctrine.

The Resurrection scene balances the radiant figure of the risen Christ against the startled guards below. Garofalo's warm palette and the Raphaelesque grace of the central figure demonstrate his synthesis of Roman and Ferrarese painting.