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Portfolios%20%3D%20%222070%22%20and%20Sort_Artist%20%3D%20%22Giordano,%20Luca%22
Painting
The Entombment
Luca Giordano, 1634 - 1705
Giordano, Luca
Italy
1634 - 1705
Male
115 1/4 x 79 1/2 in. (292.7 x 201.9 cm)
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Oil
Oil
1650-1653
1650
1653
Painting
Originally an altarpiece, this painting illustrates the New Testament scene of the Entombment of Christ, one of the most emotional and dramatic events in the Christian faith. Joseph of Arimathea, who is holding Jesus and clasping him in a shroud, and Nicodemus, who supports Jesus’ legs, are placing him in a stone sarcophagus. Saint John the Evangelist, cloaked in red, is in the foreground with his back to the viewer. Christ’s mother, the Virgin Mary, dressed in a blue robe, collapses in despair at the left. She is surrounded by Holy Women, including Mary Magdalene who wrings her hands in sorrow. Other grieving figures in the background of the painting engage each other in conversation, enhancing both the devotional and dramatic character of the painting.
Luca Giordano was one of the most celebrated artists in Naples. He produced a huge quantity of work, including altarpieces, mythological paintings and decorative fresco cycles. Giordano was internationally successful and traveled widely, working in Naples, Venice, Florence and Madrid. This altarpiece was painted early in Giordano’s career when he was only in his late teens. It shows the influence of the equally well-known and prolific painter Jusepe de Ribera, with whom he may have trained.
[Gallery label]
2005.34
item
Memorial Art Gallery
6/1/2005
2005.34DI4
digital image
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2005.34DI1
digital image
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2005.34DI2
digital image
detail
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2005.34DI3
digital image
detail
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2005.34TR1
transparency
full
4 x 5
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2005.34DI1
stretcher
digital image
back detail
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2005.34SL1
slide
2 x 2
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