The Entombment 1500 - 1550

This wooden sculpture, The Entombment, was created by the School of Antwerp. The work immediately strikes us with its compact, pyramidal structure. Figures crowd around the lifeless body of Christ, their forms deeply carved and textured. The composition directs our gaze from the drooping arm of Christ up to the grief-stricken faces clustered above. The artist uses the materiality of the wood to great effect. The rough-hewn texture and visible grain emphasize the raw emotionality of the scene. This use of material also links the piece to a broader historical and intellectual context, reflecting a late medieval concern with the physical realities of death and suffering. The sculpture seems to challenge fixed meanings through its stark portrayal of human vulnerability. Ultimately, it is through its formal qualities, such as the intricate carving and dynamic arrangement of figures, that the sculpture achieves its powerful emotional impact.