southern netherlands habsburgconcept:movement baroque
The Descent from the Cross
Oil on panel triptych by Peter Paul Rubens, 1612-1614. Cathedral of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal), Antwerp. Central altarpiece of Flemish Baroque. Depicts the lowering of Christ's body from the cross, with flanking panels of the Visitation and Presentation in the Temple.
Notes
- ·Commissioned in 1611 by the Antwerp Musketeers' Guild for their altar in Antwerp Cathedral.
- ·The central panel shows Christ's body being lowered by a diagonal composition that channels energy from upper right to lower left — a defining image of Baroque dynamism.
- ·Rubens's study of Caravaggio's Roman works (1600-1608 Italian journey) is visible in the dramatic chiaroscuro and the physical weight of the dead body.
- ·The Descent from the Cross was Rubens's breakthrough monumental work on his return to Antwerp; it established his European reputation.
- ·Napoleon's troops transported the work to Paris (1794-1815); returned after his defeat.
- ·The flanking wings depict: left panel — the Visitation (Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant); right panel — the Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple. The typological programme links the bearers of Christ (in the womb, at the cross, in the Temple) by the theme of bearing.
- ·Rubens conceived the programme around the name of the commissioning guild (Christoffel) — St Christopher carried the Christ child across the river, as the pallbearers carry his body at the descent.