The Burial of Christ

Annibale Carracci

1595 · Oil on copper · European Paintings

Inside a dark cavern, dramatically lit by a torch, Christ’s limp but powerful body is about to be lowered into his tomb. Light on the horizon signals either sunset on his earthly life or sunrise in anticipation of a new beginning with his resurrection. This richly painted oil on copper was commissioned by a canon of the cathedral of San Pietro in Bologna as a gift to an important figure in Rome, but in the end the canon kept it and sent a copy by Guido Reni.

Artist

Annibale Carracci

Date

1595

Medium

Oil on copper

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Purchase, Edwin L. Weisl Jr. Gift, 1998