# Descent from the Cross [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GOZZOLI, Benozzo]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 180 x 300 cm ## Commentary This picture reflects the influence of the Dominican monk Savonarola, who demanded religious clarity without secular ornamentation. The strict interpretation of the biblical subject matter made it completely impossible to produce a display of magnificence such as in the Medicis' private chapel. In the scene, which contains many figures, the open view into the background and the gestures of Mary and St John the Evangelist guide us compositionally towards the central theme of the Descent from the Cross. In the background on the right, the dead body of Christ is lying in front of the tomb in the rock, surrounded by a group of mourners. ## Related artworks - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Angels Worshipping \(left side of the chancel, detail\)]() - [Angels Worshipping \(left side of the chancel, detail\)]() - [Angels Worshipping \(left side of the chancel, detail\)]() - [Angels Worshipping \(left side of the chancel\)]() - [Angels Worshipping \(left side of the chancel\)]() - [Angels Worshipping \(right side of the chancel\)]() - [Arrival of St Augustine in Milan \(scene 8, north wall\)]() - [Assumption of the Virgin]() - [Baptism of St Augustine \(scene 11, east wall\)]() - [Birth of Mary]() - [Blessing of the Faithful at Hippo \(scene 14, north wall\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()