The Entombment of Christ
Titian, 1559
For now, just to look at
The photograph we have of this work is not sharp enough to print at the quality we want, so we are not selling it for now. We are looking for a better one.
About the work
- Artist
- Titian
- Date
- 1559
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 137 x 175 cm
- Collection
- Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
- Reference
- XDV-4181
What the museum label doesn't tell you
Reflectograms from the Prado reveal that the bald figure holding Christ's feet — probably Nicodemus — originally wore a turban, a detail Titian removed before sending the work to Philip II in 1559. The change is not merely decorative: without the turban, the figure loses any exotic trait and becomes just another body, sunk in the same grief as the rest of the group. Titian favoured emotional unity over picturesque detail. What other changes do you think he concealed before considering this scene finished?
