2-743-898 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Entombment, ca. 1596. This spirited drawing is a preparatory study for an altarpiece of the same subject that Giovanni de’ Vecchi painted in 1596 for the church of Santa Prassede in Rome. Here, the artist used pen and violet watercolour to render the forms of the dead Christ surrounded by Saint John the Apostle, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, the grief-stricken Virgin Mary, Saint Mary Magdalene (at Christ’s feet), and their companions who adoringly convey his body to the open tomb visible in the upper left background. In this working drawing, the artist experimented with alternate poses for Nicodemus, the figure holding Christ’s body at left, as well as the Virgin, whose head is drawn twice at center right.