CARAVAGGIO
(b. 1571, Caravaggio, d. 1610, Porto Ercole)

The Entombment (detail)

1602-03
Oil on canvas, width of detail 118 cm
Pinacoteca, Vatican

The stone slab makes its appearance in the picture with terrifying power. According to one's attitude, one will detect in this paiting either irreverence or profound religious bewilderment in the face of the death of Christ, because it presents the meaning of the sacred event - the unique occasion - which lies in the heart of Church ritual, in a tangible visual form.