Deposition 1515

Giovanni Bellini created this oil on wood panel depicting the Deposition, the removal of Christ’s body from the cross, sometime around the late fifteenth century. The moment is rife with emotion, but this emotion is carefully coded. Bellini was working in Venice at a time when the city was establishing itself as a major center for artistic production. The church was still a major patron and the dominant visual culture was still deeply influenced by Byzantine iconography, but artists were increasingly interested in a move towards naturalism. Bellini’s composition combines this new humanism with traditional religious symbolism, the landscape setting invites the viewer to feel the scene as real, as well as to meditate on the spiritual significance of Christ’s sacrifice. By looking at the social and cultural context in which Bellini was working, we can understand how the art of the time was shaped by these competing forces. Through primary sources, such as letters, contracts, and religious documents, we gain a deeper understanding of the conditions that shaped artistic production in Renaissance Venice.