a visit with jesus

 Bible Art

The Deposition from the Cross
Artist: Jacopo da Pontormo
 1528    Painting

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In this masterpiece,  Pontormo's Mannerist style fully realized. He adopts vibrant, saturated hues to illuminate figures in serpentine poses. His characters are removed from any sort of naturalistic setting, being placed rather within a shallow, flattened space. Pontormo has also removed the cross from the scene, instead merely suggesting its form through the arrangement of the figures. The focuses here then is on the dramatic emotions of the scene rather than one more Deposition narrative. Gone too are other markers of reality, such as blood, dirt, or the crown of thorns. The only indication of Christ's death is the slight grey pallor that affects his skin, noticeable in contrast with the clear, crisp colors used in the rest of the work. This palette was most likely inspired by that used by Michelangelo for the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. Likewise, Christ's twisting body recalls Michelangelo's 1498 Vatican Pietà. 

This painting is oil on wood and is the Church of Santa Felicita, Florence, Italy.

The Descent from Mount Sinai
Artist: Cosimo Roselli
 1481-82    Painting

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The Descent from Mount Sinai is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Cosimo Rosselli and is located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. It depicts the prophet Moses in the process of receiving and introducing the Ten Commandments.  It measures 350 cm × 572 cm (140 in × 225 in)