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German, after Martin Schongauer, The Entombment

Key facts
Full title The Entombment
Artist German, after Martin Schongauer
Artist dates ; active 1469; died 1491
Date made about 1550
Medium and support Oil on paper mounted on oak
Dimensions 17.5 × 12.1 cm
Acquisition credit Bought, 1883
Inventory number NG1151
Location Not on display
Collection Main Collection
The Entombment
German, after Martin Schongauer

Christ’s dead body is lowered gently into his tomb. Mary Magdalene and two other women mourn him; Saint John the Evangelist, who was present at the Crucifixion, kneels beside the Virgin Mary, his back to the viewer. The other men are Joseph of Arimathea, who offered his family tomb for the burial, and Nicodemus, who helped remove Christ’s body from the Cross, a moment depicted in the distance to the right.

This picture was painted over the top of an engraving by the German artist Martin Schongauer. Made about 50 years after his death, it was an efficient way of creating a painting after one of his compositions. Schongauer played an important role in the development of engraving as an art form.

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