This painting was called The Descent from the cross or Deposition of Christ or Descent of Christ from the cross. It was painted by the Flemish artist Rogier Van Der Weyden in 1435. It was painted with oil, on oak panel. The size of this painting is 220cm x 262cm.
This painting contained many subjects that almost filled up the whole panel. There were ten human figures that consist six male and four female, all have a certain expression. At the center there was Jesus Christ, his body was wounded. There was a cut on his abdomen, his forehead was scratched …show more content…
Right above the Christ, there was the cross or part of it due to the limitation of space. Behind the cross, there was a wooden ladder. On the ground there was a skull and a bone, in contrast there were also some plants and flowers.
This painting used colors with rules. It used two triadic color scheme and a neutral color. It used the three primary colors, three secondary colors and brown. Virgin Mary could be identified base on the ultramarine blue dress she wore, for the reason that this color was always used on her . White was solely used on Jesus, nuns and Virgin Mary's headdress.
This painting had some arrangements for objects and subjects. The use of perspective could be seen at the six corners of the panel, lines that served as the indication of space. The tone of the wall's colors changed to indicate light and shadow. Human figures were positioned one in front another to suggest they were in a three-dimensional space. The positions of Christ and Virgin Mary were arranged in great similarity, both of their body slanting and formed two diagonal lines in the …show more content…
The body of the Christ formed a shape like the crossbow. Because the painting was commissioned by the crossbowman guild . In addition, the poses of the Christ and Virgin Mary were very similar. An indication of their close relationship, mother and son.
The setting of this painting could also be found. The plants and grass painted in the painting suggested the crucifixion was executed near nature. In the Bible, Christ was crucified in a garden there was a new tomb . The skull and the bone also indicated the existence of the tomb. In addition, the skull also had another meaning. That the Christ body was going to be buried with Adam, the skull was actually Adam's . The possibility of them burying together was a poetic and epic scene in the Christian’s history.
The overall texture and details were breath-taking. The tears on people's face were so convincing, easier to arouse audience's emotion. The details of the plant were very delicate and elaborate, the strokes that created them were tender. As for the clothes, the artist presented the texture of different fabric with microscopic precision. The texture of fur, metal on the clothes were masterfully painted that audience could take credibility in the attire those figures were