Raphael’s The Deposition – a painting of suffering, the fragility of life and an unforgettable loss
Raphael’s The Deposition – a painting of suffering, the fragility of life and an unforgettable loss
The Deposition, Raphael, Galleria Borghese
The Deposition, fragment, Raphael, Galleria Borghese
Raphael’s The Deposition, Galleria Borghese
This painting was initially found in the Church of San Francesco in Perugia, until the moment when it sparked the interest of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who – over one hundered years after the work was created – decided to claim it as his own. When the angry city demanded that he return the painting, the cardinal sent its copy. The original is still today found at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, funded by the cardinal.
This painting was initially found in the Church of San Francesco in Perugia, until the moment when it sparked the interest of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who – over one hundered years after the work was created – decided to claim it as his own. When the angry city demanded that he return the painting, the cardinal sent its copy. The original is still today found at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, funded by the cardinal.
It was painted by Raphael for Atalanta Baglioni, in order to commemorate the death of her son Grifonetto, who was victim of riots in Perugia, during the struggles for power in the city.
It is difficult not to notice the mastery of this outstanding work. The balanced composition is built on two intersecting lines, which bring together the figures – on one side those adoring Christ’s dead body, on the other the grieving and supporting the deep in sorrow Mary – Mother of God. Both these lines are connected by a youth with light hair, with his profile to the onlooker, carrying the body of Christ. On the left the scene is closed by a rock with a gaping hole – the tomb, towards which the group is moving. In a distance, on a hill, there are three crosses reminding us of Christ’s martyrdom, while straight ahead is the Antognolla castle with the white silhouette of its bastion – the residence of the Baglioni family. The landscape in the background gently supplements the scene of human suffering, providing hope for consolation and a lessening of the loss which can never be forgotten.
Raphael combined the theme of the suffering of an abandoned mother, with the death of a beloved son, giving the religious motif a universal dimension of human suffering after the loss of a loved one. The young, handsome youth, who we can assume is the deceased son of the founder, is a pendant to the body of Christ. His strong hands and lively figure are a direct opposite of the dead, numb body of Christ. Both make us aware of the fact of passing from the world of the living to the world of the dead.
Each of the protagonists of this scene is immersed in their own world of pain. Only an elder man with a beard, dressed in green, most likely Joseph of Arimathea, meaning the man who made his tomb available for the burial of Christ, looks on at us intently, as if he would like to find out if we understand this scene, telling a story of the fragility of life, suffering and death.
As always with Raphael, also here the viewer is struck with an excellent, so often praised harmony of colors – expertly combined decisive reds, juicy greens and inky blues.
Raphael Santi, The Deposition, 1507, 179 x 174 cm, Galleria Borghese
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