The Descent from the Cross

This panel by Simone Martini shows the moment when Christ’s body is removed from the cross. Two men support him from the ladder, while on the left the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and other mourners gather closely around the scene. On the right stand further witnesses with gestures of grief. At the bottom, kneeling beside a skull, appears a richly dressed figure often connected with Cardinal Napoleone Orsini, the probable patron of the ensemble.

The work belongs to the Orsini Polyptych and is preserved in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp under inventory number 260. The museum dates it between 1320 and 1330 and records dimensions of 24 by 15 centimeters. It is executed in tempera and gold on wood. Although the panel is very small, the scene unfolds as a complex choreography of hands, glances, and movements, turning mourning for Christ into an image of intense religious emotion.