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The nervous tension that characterizes Tura's art is condensed in this small, dramatic painting. The figures are built up out of incisive, angular lines, while in the background rises the harsh, fretted shape of a mountain with three tall crosses set against a hard, jewel-like sky.
Seated on the sarcophagus that has the dual significance of tomb and altar, the very young Virgin is portrayed in the act of offering the body of Christ in sacrifice, in an obvious allusion to the Eucharist.
Strong northern influences can be observed in the painting, German (namely Dürer) and Rogier van der Weyden were suggested as the source of influence. The datation of the painting is debated.
Restored in 1956.
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