The Deposition of Christ / Guglielmo della Porta
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1962/2.20
- Title
- The Deposition of Christ
- Artist
- Guglielmo della Porta
- Artist Nationality
- Italian
- Artist Life Dates
- 1515-1577
- Medium and Support
- bronze relief
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1564
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Italy (nation)
- Lazio (region)
- Roma (province)
- Rome (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Italy (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Lazio (region)
- Creation Place 4
- Roma (province)
- Creation Place 5
- Rome (inhabited place)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- Mannerist
- Dimensions
- 52.7 cm x 37.1 cm x 3.8 cm (20 3/4 in. x 14 5/8 in. x 1 1/2 in.)
- Century
- 16th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- bas-relief
- Secondary Object Classification
- Metalwork
- Secondary Object Type
- casting
- Physical Description
- A small crowd of figures gathers around the body of a dead man and a fainting woman in the center of this bronze panel. The dead man's body and the two men holding his burial shroud appear in the foreground, while the fainting woman and the three women and the man who support her are positioned immediately above and behind them. Another woman with loose, flowing hair leans forward to kiss the left hand of the dead man, uniting the two parts of this central group. Four other male figures, rendered in slightly smaller scale and lower relief, look on from the sides. Three crosses provide the backdrop to the drama. The central cross is empty, yet two twisting nude males are suspended from the crosses on either side.
- Subject Matter
- This bronze panel depicts the removal of Christ from the cross, which looms empty in the background. His muscular body, held by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, lies in calm repose at the center of a storm of grief. Mary Magdalene, her hair unbound, leans sharply forward to kiss Christ's left wrist, while the Virgin Mary falls back in a faint into the arms of three women and St. John the Evangelist. Great sweeps of drapery augment the impassioned responses of the figures. Four onlookers stand to the sides and the two thieves, their bodies naked and twisted, still hang on their crosses.
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- copper alloy
- copper and copper alloy
- coverings and hangings
- coverings and hangings by function
- coverings and hangings by specific type
- descriptors
- europe (continent)
- events
- executions
- furnishings
- furnishings by form or function
- geographic and political locations
- groups of people
- groups of people by activity
- inorganic material
- italy (nation)
- lazio (region)
- materials
- materials by composition
- metal
- metal and metal products
- metal by composition or origin
- nonferrous metal
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- roma (province)
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 727 x 951
- File Size
- 86 KB
- Record
- 1962/2.20
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1962-sl-2.20/1962_2.20.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1962-SL-2.20:1962_2.20.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Deposition of Christ; Guglielmo della Porta." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1962-sl-2.20/1962_2.20.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 23, 2024.
