Deposition: mary, mary of magdala and joseph of arimathea have been preparing christ's body for entombment. Christ rests on the ground, his livid body a shocking contrast with the blood-red sky in the background, the crown of thorns and the nail from his feet lying next to him. A mourning mary looks as if she could barely sit up. Mary of magdala makes not effort to rise and lies holding his feet and burying her face in grief. Joseph has straightened up after cleaning the body and his ramrod straight back parallels the crosses while offering a contrast with the bowed, almost crushed female figures and denoting the upright man. The basin, full of christ's blood, may evoke the legend according to which joseph filled a vessel, that was later to be known as the holy grail, with christ's blood. Object Type: painting. Collection: Tretyakov Gallery.
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