# Descent from the Cross [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [COECKE VAN AELST, Pieter]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Oil on panel, 119 x 170 cm ## Commentary Descent from the Cross c. 1535 Oil on panel, 119 x 170 cm Amstelkring Museum, Amsterdam Christ's dead body rests on the Virgin Mary's lap and is supported on the left by St John and on the right by Nicodemus. On the left-side panel the man in the prosperous clothes represents Joseph of Arimathea. He is identified by the crown of thorns. The right-side panel shows Mary Magdalen, identified by the jar of ointment with which she anointed Jesus's feet. Because the figures are depicted in the foreground, they involve the viewer in the events they portray and encourage a sense of empathy with Christ's passion and Mar's grief. This triptych was freely adapted from a work by Rogier van der Weyden by the workshop of Coecke and Aelst. ## Related artworks - [Abraham and Isaac]() - [Agony in the Garden]() - [Altarpiece of the Passion]() - [Christ and His Disciples on Their Way to Emmaus]() - [Holy Trinity]() - [Last Supper]() - [The Triumph of Fame]() - [Triptych: Adoration of the Magi]() - [Triptych]() - [Triptych]() - [Triptych with the Lamentation]() - [Turkish Sultan before the Hippodrome \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()