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The sequence of fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Entombment groups in France culminates in the haunting group in the Abbey of Solesmes, presented by the prior Guillaume Cheminart in 1496. This group is particularly well known for its statue of Mary Magdalen seated before the sarcophagus weeping silently into her clenched hands. Behind the lifeless body of Jesus there is a moving portrait of the Virgin held up by Saint John, and on either side of them the Holy Women, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus. It appears that this last figure is a portrait of some contemporary figure, perhaps Jean d'Armagnac, Lord of Sablé.
In this majestic Entombment the long tradition of Gothic piety and the sentiment of Gothic communal expression are held subtly in check within the framework of the Renaissance style of Italy.
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