The Descent from the Cross

Painted by Peter Paul Rubens in about 1616–1617 shortly after he completed the great Antwerp Cathedral triptych, this 'Descent from the Cross' shows the dead Christ slipping down the cross on a luminous diagonal, caught by John, by a labourer biting the white shroud between his teeth, and by the Magdalen in her fiery red robe. The cascade of bodies bridges light and shadow in the elongated Italian manner Rubens absorbed from Caravaggio, while the colour handling is unmistakably Venetian. Held by the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, it is among the most celebrated Rubens compositions anywhere.

Exhibition Venue

Pinakothek Museums Munich

Munich, Germany