Peter Paul Rubens
Helene Fourment in Her Bridal Gown, um 1630/31
Eichenholz, 163,5 x 136,9 cm
Erworben 1698 durch Kurfürst Max Emanuel
Inv. Nr. 340
The Entombment of Christ
Although this oil sketch, in its formal elements, corresponds to "Lamentation of Christ" imagery, it depicts neither the moment of parting nor the actual entombment, but rather the anointment of the corpse, which is described in the Gospel of John (John 19, 38-42). Here, the artist worked with ideas which were prompted by Caravaggio's "Entombment of Christ", which Rubens had copied during his stay in Rome. The position of the corpse, which has been painted in a flat diagonal, and the dramatic depiction of pain and suffering on Christ's face hark back to the model.