Jesus' Crucifixion In Art

This painting shows the moment immediately after Christ has been lowered from the cross (making Lamentation a more accurate title than Deposition). The dead body of Christ is front and center in the composition, while behind him and to the right, we see the base of the cross, and a ladder leaning against it. Descending the ladder is Nicodemus, who holds the pincers that he used to remove the nails from Christ's hands and feet in the deposition process. Christ's head rests in the lap of the grief-stricken Virgin Mary, who, in turn, is supported in her seated position by young Saint John. Mary Magdalene sits just behind Christ's legs, at the right-hand side of the image. 

This Oil on canvas is housed in the  Parma National Gallery, Parma 

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.