Christ Carried to the Tomb

This dramatically lit painting shows the burial of Christ following his crucifixion, a story described in the New Testament of the Bible, according to the Christian tradition. In a dramatic, diagonal movement which sweeps down through the painting, Christ’s body is carried into the enveloping darkness of the tomb by Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, a torch bearer and John the Evangelist (right to left). The weeping holy women, glimpsed outside beyond the mouth of the tomb, occupy a space deep within the painting. By contrast, John the Evangelist seems to step right out of the painting into the viewer’s space. The eye is drawn to Christ’s limp hand in the centre of the painting, still bearing the wound made by the nail which fixed him to the cross. The mourning woman in the foreground, likely Mary Magdalene, meditates upon this hand, inviting the viewer to do the same in the empty space that has been left for them.   

The Italian painter and etcher Sisto Badalocchio (1585- after 1621?) was a pupil of the Italian artist Agostino Carracci (1557-1602). After his mentor’s death, he moved to Rome and worked as an assistant to Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), the brother of Agostino. This painting’s composition is probably derived from a lost painting by Annibale, made while Badalocchio was working for him. After Annibale’s death, Badalocchio returned to Parma and continued working, painting several altarpieces and frescos. Most of the work Badalocchio made was religious, but he also painted literary and mythological subjects.