The Descent from the Cross (Rubens, 1612–1614)

Painting by Peter Paul Rubens

The Descent from the Cross

Artist| Peter Paul Rubens
Year| 1612–1614
Medium| Oil on panel
Dimensions| 420.5 cm × 320 cm (165.6 in × 130 in)
Location| Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp

The Descent from the Cross is the central panel of a triptych painting by the Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens in 1612–1614. It is still in its original place, the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium. The painting is considered to be one of Rubens' masterpieces. The painting depicts the moment when the body of Jesus Christ is taken down from the cross after his crucifixion. The subject was one Rubens returned to again and again in his career. The artwork was commissioned on September 7, 1611, by the Confraternity of the Arquebusiers, whose patron saint was St. Christopher.

## History

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In general, the painting has its origins in the Italian artistic tradition, influenced by the Mannerist style of artists such as Francesco Salviati, Federico Barocci, Jacopino del Conte, Cigoli, and Daniele da Volterra. These artists may have been inspired by the ideas of Michelangelo and earlier examples from the fifteenth century.[1] However, Rubens' painting stands apart from the dramatic Italian artists in its depiction of the ritualistic and solemn lowering of Christ's body from the Cross into the arms of the believers.[2]

In 1794, the occupying French army removed this painting and The Elevation of the Cross and sent them to the Louvre. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars his defeat, they were returned to the cathedral in 1815.[3]

Along with The Elevation of The Cross, The Descent From The Cross was stolen again in 1914 by the Imperial German Army and taken to Berlin, where both triptychs were kept in the Berlin Palace until after the Armistice of November 11, 1918 when they were returned to the Cathedral.

### Counter-Reformation Context

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In The Descent from the Cross, Rubens highlights the triumphant element of the cross.[4] The painting depicts the moment when Christ's body is taken down from the cross, and is similarly full of drama and emotion. The figures in the painting are depicted with exaggerated expressions of grief and sadness, emphasizing the emotional impact of Christ's death. The painting invites the viewer to reflect on the importance of Christ's sacrifice and to deepen their emotional devotion to him. The image serves to remind the faithful of Christ's divine nature.[4] During the Counter-Reformation period, Catholic art required portrayal of the suffering Savior that was more heroic and godly in appearance. Beside the interpretation of Christ's sacrifice, the Catholic Church during the Counter Reformation also required accurate depictions of biblical events such as the Life of the Virgin, the Life of Christ, and the stories of the saints recommended after the Council of Trent.[4]

Rubens transformed the representation of the Virgin from a portrayal of frailty and agony to one of fortitude and bravery based on the Gospel of Saint John (Jn.19:25). The painting emphasis the aspect of Counter Reformation Catholicism. In the Co-redemptrix doctrine, the Virgin is a crucial figure. She shares the work of Redemption with her Son and participates in the divine task of saving humanity.[5] Mary's role as a co-Redeemer was emphasized, in contrast to Protestants who limited or even denied the importance of honoring Mary.[2]

The piece of art portrays Saint Christopher, who belongs to the group of Fourteen Holy Helpers. It combines the popular story of a devout giant carrying the baby Jesus on his back across a river with a representation that emphasizes humanistic ennoblement. While some humanists regarded the veneration of Saint Christopher as a form of superstition,[2] Saint Christopher is used here as a metaphor for the Eucharist, which is a central Catholic belief in the physical presence of Christ's body during Mass and a theme that contrasts with Protestant views.[2]

Saint Christopher (left outer door)

Artist| Peter Paul Rubens
Year| 1612–1614
Medium| Oil on panel
Dimensions| 421 cm × 153 cm (166 in × 60 in)
Location| Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp

## Subject Matter

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The deposition of the dead Christ from the Cross has been a symbolic theme since the fifteen century. Ruben got the idea for the painting Descent from the Cross before he was commissioned by the Harquebusiers.[6] Unlike The Descent from the Cross (van der Weyden), Christ's body is lowered down carefully by group of men. Ruben uses the white shroud that is around Christ’s body, to make it more complicated.[7]

### Scriptural Basis

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The Descent from the Cross, also known as the Deposition of Christ, is a subject in Christian art that is based on several passages in the Bible. The main scriptural basis for this subject can be found in the Gospels of Matthew (Mt. 27: 57-60), Gospels of Mark (Mk. 15:43-46), Gospels of Luke (Lk. 23:50-53), and Gospels of John (Jn. 19:38-42), which describe the events surrounding Jesus' death and burial. There was a man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who is a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate granted his request. Joseph proceeded to wrap the body in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb that he had carved from rock.[8]

## Composition

[edit]

Outside the shutters of the triptych, Ruben illustrates the guild's patron, Christopher, or Christophorus, "Christ-bearer", carrying the Christ across the stream, and the Hermit. Inside the panel, the central of the triptych depicts the body of Christ being lowered from the cross by a group of men. The Visitation, Mary who is carrying Christ Child, is described on the left panel.  The Presentation in the Temple, The old man Simeon hold the Child in his arm is described on the right panel.[9] The Descent from the Cross is divided into three sections, each depicting a different scene. The Descent features two scenes on the sides that are set in distinct architectural environments.

### The Visitation

[edit]

On the left side, the setting is a bridge elevated high up, featuring a classical portico. Here, a pregnant Virgin Mary encounters her older cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant and will become the mother of John Baptist.[4]

### The Presentation of Christ

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On the right side, the scene takes place in a meticulously designed temple interior, where the High Priest is presented with the Christ-child. These scenes share a common theme of the beginning of Christ's life, which stands in contrast to the central panel that portrays his end.[4]

### The Deposition

[edit]

The focal point of the painting is in the center panel, which portrays a group of interlocking figures arranged in an elliptical shape around the lifeless body of Jesus. St. John, dressed in a scarlet cloak and with one foot on a ladder for support, is the primary figure supporting the weight of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea is positioned diagonally across from St. John to assist him. Nicodemus is shown above them on the ladder, while two men leaning over the crossbar are lowering Jesus' body, with one holding the winding sheet between his teeth to free his hands. Mary Magdalen and Mary Cleophas kneel at the foot of the cross, while the Virgin Mary is standing upright, her sorrow and anguish expressed in her pale face rather than her posture.[4]

The Virgin, standing at the foot of the sacrificial tree, extends her arms towards her Son. On the ground are seen the superscription and a copper basin where the crown of thorns and the nails of the Crucifixion lie in the congealed blood. The crowd, elated by the spectacle of torture, has departed from Golgotha as daylight fades. After the sacrifice of Calvary, as it is called in Scripture, the sad, dark sky is crossed by a light that illumines the shoulders of the workmen, whose bold posture recalls the composition by Daniele da Volterra.

All of the figures are strongly lit, creating a relief-like effect that is accentuated by the dark background. The background opens up to a glimpse of the evening sky on the left side of the painting.[4]

The triptych describes the Visitation, the Descent from the Cross, and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

## Other versions

[edit]

In addition to the original work for Antwerp, Rubens painted three or more other versions exploring the same theme.[10]

Version  | Date Painted  | Current Location

|
|

The Descent from the Cross (Rubens, 1617) | 1616–17  | Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille
The Descent from the Cross (Rubens) | c. 1616  | Courtauld Gallery, London
The Descent from the Cross (Rubens, 1618) | 1617–18  | Hermitage Museum
The Kalisz Rubens |  | Lost

## See also

[edit]

* The Descent from the Cross (Rubens), for other paintings by Rubens of the same title

## Gallery

[edit]

* Descent from the Cross (c. 1545), before its 2004 restoration - Daniele da Volterra \- Trinità dei Monti, Rome

* The Descent from the Cross \- detail - Peter Paul Rubens - 1612 - Antwerp Cathedral

## References

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1. ^ Białostocki, Jan. "The Descent from the Cross in Works by Peter Paul Rubens and His Studio". The Art Bulletin, Volume 46, No. 4, December 1964. 511–524
2. ^ a b c d Sauerländer, Willibald (2014). The Catholic Rubens : saints and martyrs. Peter Paul Rubens, David B. Dollenmayer. Los Angeles, California. ISBN 978-1-60606-268-5. OCLC 862149034.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
3. ^ Rooses, Max (1904). Rubens. Vol. I. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. p. 171.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Belkin, Kristin Lohse (1998). Rubens. London: Phaidon. ISBN 0-7148-3412-2. OCLC 40392738.
5. ^ Glen, Thomas L. (1977). Rubens and the Counter Reformation. Carland Publishing, Inc., New York & London. ISBN 0824026926.
6. ^ Martin, John R. (April 1969). Rubens: The Antwerp Altarpieces: The Raising of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross. Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W. ISBN 9780393098624.
7. ^ Kress, Berthold (2013). "PASSERI, RUBENS, AND REYNOLDS—A NEGLECTED SOURCE FOR THE ANTWERP "DESCENT FROM THE CROSS". The University of Chicago Press Journals. 32 (2): 35–40\. JSTOR 23292910.35-40&rft.date=2013&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23292910#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Kress&rft.aufirst=Berthold&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23292910&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:The+Descent+from+the+Cross+(Rubens,+1612–1614)" class="Z3988">
8. ^ "The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops".
9. ^ Scribner, Charles (1989). Peter Paul Rubens. Peter Paul Rubens. New York. ISBN 0-8109-1569-3. OCLC 18834265.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
10. ^ "The masterpiece of Peter Paul Rubens, The descent from the cross from the collection of the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg". 2000.

## Sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Descent from the Cross (1612–1614, Antwerp) by Peter Paul Rubens.

* Jaffé, M. (1989). Catalogo completo di Rubens. Rizzoli.
* Martin, John R. (editor). Rubens: The Antwerp Altarpieces – The Raising of the Cross and the Descent from the Cross – Norton Critical Studies in Art History. Norton & Company. `{{cite book}}`: `|first=` has generic name (help)

* v
* t
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Peter Paul Rubens

Paintings
and drawings|

* The Descent from the Cross (Siegen; 1600–1602)
* Leda and the Swan (1601, 1602)
* The Deposition (1602)
* Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua (1602–1605)
* Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603)
* Portrait of a Young Woman (1603)
* Hercules and Omphale (1603)
* Heraclitus and Democritus (1603)
* Virgin and Child (c. 1604)
* The Fall of Phaeton (c. 1604/1605)
* The Baptism of Christ (1604–1605)
* The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1604–1605)
* Transfiguration (1604–1605)
* The Circumcision (1605)
* Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (1606)
* Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra (1606)
* Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant (1606)
* Portrait of Giovanni Carlo Doria on Horseback (1606)
* Madonna della Vallicella (1606–1608)
* Susanna and the Elders (1607)
* The Head of Saint John the Baptist Presented to Salome (c. 1609)
* Adoration of the Magi (Madrid; 1609 and 1628–29)
* Samson and Delilah (1609–1610)
* Honeysuckle Bower (1609–1610)
* Coronation of the Virgin (1609–1611)
* Juno and Argus (1610)
* Raising of the Cross (1610–1611)
* Conversion of Saint Paul (London; 1610–1612)
* Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611)
* Venus Frigida (1611)
* Prometheus Bound (1611–1612)
* The Four Philosophers (1611–1612)
* Antwerp Resurrection (1611–1612)
* Visitation (c. 1611–1615)
* Roman Charity (1612)
* Ecce Homo (1612)
* Descent from the Cross (Antwerp; 1612–1614)
* Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Rotterdam; 1612–1614)
* Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Cambridge; c. 1614)
* The Tribute Money (1612–1614)
* The Defeat of Sennacherib (1612–1614)
* The Four Continents (1610s)
* Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter (1612–1614)
* Portrait of a Commander (1613)
* The Crowning of the Virtuous Hero (1613–1614)
* The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613–1615)
* The Death of Adonis (1614)
* Venus and Adonis (1614)
* St Sebastian (c. 1614)
* The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (c. 1614)
* Madonna della Cesta (1615)
* Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (1615)
* Daniel in the Lions' Den (1615)
* Bacchanalia (c. 1615)
* A Statue of Ceres (c. 1615)
* The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616)
* The Tiger Hunt (1615–1616)
* Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615–1616)
* The Wild Boar Hunt (1615–1617)
* Florence Resurrection (1616)
* The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents (1616)
* Erichthonius Discovered by the Daughters of Cecrops (c. 1616)
* The Wolf and Fox Hunt (c. 1616)
* The Lion and Leopard Hunt (c. 1616)
* Romulus and Remus (1615–1616)
* Miracles of St. Francis Xavier (1616–1617)
* Saint Stephen Triptych (1616–1617)
* Two Women with a Candle (1616–1617)
* Descent from the Cross (Lille; 1616–1617)
* The Meeting Between Abraham and Melchizedek (1616–1617)
* Christ and the Penitent Sinners (1617)
* Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617)
* The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
* The Great Last Judgement (1617)
* A Bearded Man (c. 1617–18)
* Adoration of the Magi (Lyon; 1617–1618)
* The Five Senses (1617–1618)
* Two Satyrs (1618)
* Medusa (1618)
* The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1618)
* Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death (c. 1618)
* The Prodigal Son (1618)
* The Union of Earth and Water (c. 1618)
* Tigress with Her Cubs (attributed; 1618)
* Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsenna (c. 1618–1620)
* Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1618–1620)
* The Wild Boar Hunt (1618–1620)
* St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (1619–1620)
* The Small Last Judgement (1619)
* Conversion of Saint Paul (1620s)
* The Fall of the Damned (c. 1620)
* Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (c. 1620)
* Portrait of a Young Man in Armor (c. 1620)
* Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1620)
* Perseus Freeing Andromeda (1620)
* Saints Dominic and Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (1620)
* The Rape of Orithyia by Boreas (1620)
* Christ on the Cross (1620)
* The Three Graces (Florence; 1620–1623)
* Isabella Brant (c. 1621)
* The Lion Hunt (1621)
* Marie de' Medici cycle (1621–1630)
* Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622)
* Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1622)
* The History of Constantine (1622–1625)
* Self-Portrait (1623)
* The Conversion of Saint Bavo (1623–1624)
* Diana and Her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt (1623–1624)
* Adoration of the Magi (Antwerp; 1624)
* The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob (1624)
* Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims (1623–1626)
* Portrait of Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia (1625)
* Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (c. 1625)
* Assumption of the Virgin (Antwerp; 1625–1626)
* Angelica and the Hermit (c. 1626–1628)
* Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry (1627)
* The Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris (1627)
* The Annunciation (1627–1628)
* The Fall of Man (1628–1629)
* The Rape of Europa (1628–1629)
* Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars (1629–1630)
* Cimon and Pero (1630)
* Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1630)
* The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1631)
* The Ildefonso Altarpiece (1630–1631)
* Last Supper (1630–1631)
* Odysseus on the Island of the Phaecians (1630–1635)
* The Finding of Erichthonius (1632–1634)
* The Rainbow Landscape (Saint Petersburg; 1632–1635)
* The Garden of Love (c. 1633)
* Adoration of the Magi (Cambridge; 1634)
* Bathsheba at the Fountain (c. 1635)
* The Dance of the Villagers (1635)
* Helena Fourment with Her Son Frans (1635)
* Venus and Adonis (New York; 1635)
* The Triumph of the Church (1635)
* The Feast of Venus (1635–1636)
* Deucalion and Pyrrha (1636–1637)
* The Feast of Herod (1635–1638)
* The Village Fête (1635–1638)
* Mercury and Argus (1635–1638)
* Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (c. 1636)
* Helena Fourment with Children (1636)
* A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (1636)
* Saturn (1636)
* The Rainbow Landscape (London; 1636)
* Pallas and Arachne (1636–1637)
* Het Pelsken (1636–1638)
* Assumption of the Virgin (Vienna; c. 1637)
* The Birth of the Milky Way (c. 1637)
* Consequences of War (c. 1638)
* Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides / Deianira Listens to Fame (1638)
* The Three Graces (Madrid; 1636–1638)
* The Rape of Ganymede (1636–1638)
* Diana and Callisto (1637–1638)
* Helena Fourment with a Carriage (1638)
* Self-Portrait (Vienna; 1638–1639)
* Bacchus (1638–1640)
* The Rape of the Sabine Women (1639–1640)
* The Peasants Returning From The Fields (1640)
* The Rainbow Landscape (Munich; 1640)
* Judgment of Paris (various)

Tapestries|

* The History of Constantine (1622–1640) (with Pietro da Cortona)

Books|

* Palazzi di Genova (1622)

Museums|

* Rubenshuis

People|

* Rubens family
* Isabella Brant (first wife)
* Helena Fourment (second wife)
* Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen (son)
* Albert Rubens (son)
* Jan Rubens (father)
* Maria Pypelinckx (mother)
* Philip Rubens (brother)
* Tobias Verhaecht (teacher)
* Adam van Noort (teacher)
* Otto van Veen (teacher)
* Nicolaas Rockox (friend)

Related|

* Poussinists and Rubenists
* Rubens (1977 film)
* Rubenesque
* Rubens' Europe (exhibition)

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