Sebastiano del Piombo, 'The Raising of Lazarus'

This grand 16th-century painting was the first work to be brought into the National Gallery.

Transcript

This monumental painting was made in the early 16th century by the Venetian artist, Sebastiano del Piombo. Its subject is Christ's miraculous resurrection of Lazarus.

The larger-than-life figure of Christ dominates the scene. He points his finger towards Lazarus, as if commanding him to come back to life, while all around people shield their noses against the stench of the open tomb.

On the right is Lazarus himself, his winding cloths falling off to reveal a body that is miraculously muscular.

These exaggerated poses and gestures make this painting very easy to 'read' and are typical of the grand manner of painting that was so admired in the 16th century.

In the centuries that followed, the features you see here - the grand gestures, the balanced composition and the focus on the human figure - all became important features of the academic painting tradition, and were still highly regarded in the 19th century, when this painting was acquired.

In fact, this was the very first painting to enter the National Gallery - a sure sign of the esteem in which it was held.

It was one of the 38 paintings that the British government acquired from the estate of John Julius Angerstein, the founder of the Lloyd's insurance exchange.

In 1824, when the Gallery first opened its doors, these paintings were the National Gallery, and were housed in a town house on Pall Mall, just along the street from here.

This painting was the centrepiece there, and with its awe-inspiring grandeur and spiritually uplifting theme, it fulfilled one of the founding principles of the Gallery: to be a place where people could learn about and be inspired by great paintings, as we hope it still does today.

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