Is this really the burial of Christ?

Not quite. The Vatican Museums’ own description points out that Caravaggio shows the moment just before burial: Christ’s body is being laid on the Anointing Stone, the slab used to prepare and seal the tomb, not lowered into the grave itself. That same stone slab is what appears to jut into the viewer’s own space.

Who is the balding man gripping Christ’s legs?

He’s usually identified as Nicodemus, the secret follower who helped prepare Christ’s body for burial, working alongside John the Evangelist at the shoulders. Their strain is deliberately unheroic: ordinary men bearing real weight, not saints floating through a miracle.

The Deposition (Entombment of Christ)

1603–1604 Oil on canvas Baroque Caravaggio Pinacoteca Vaticana

Caravaggio brings the Passion down to earth. Two men—one bent with effort, one gripping under the knees—lower Christ toward a stone slab that projects toward us like an altar. Mary Magdalene and the Virgin press forward, while a figure in orange flings her arms upward. Light carves flesh from darkness; the palette is sober, the emotion unguarded. Painted c. 1603–1604, the composition makes viewers witnesses at arm's length: the limp hand grazes the stone, weight and sorrow shared by those who hold him. Its chiaroscuro and physical immediacy shaped Baroque painting across Europe, proving that faith could be shown with sweat, shadow, and touch.

Visiting Tips

Stand slightly left; the descending diagonal and slab read most strongly.

Why This Artwork Is Important

Defines Baroque naturalism and chiaroscuro.
Altar and image fuse into one dramatic act.

What to Look For

Stone slab thrusting toward the viewer.
Nicodemus's bent back and straining arms.
Christ's limp hand grazing the stone.

Fun Fact

Seized to Paris in 1797 and returned to Rome in 1816.

Frequently Asked Questions

Caravaggio painted it as the altarpiece of the Vittrice family chapel in Santa Maria in Vallicella (the “Chiesa Nuova”) in Rome, directly above the tomb of the man who commissioned it, with masses for his soul said facing this image. Napoleon’s troops shipped it to Paris in 1797; when it returned in 1816 it went to the Vatican’s picture gallery instead of back to the chapel, where a copy now hangs in its place.

Last Minute Offers

Find the cheapest last-minute offers to visit Pinacoteca Vaticana and see The Deposition (Entombment of Christ) with your own eyes!

Date	Tickets	Tours
17 Aug Monday	Buy for €25	Buy for €64
18 Aug Tuesday	Buy for €25	Buy for €65
19 Aug Wednesday	Buy for €25	Buy for €64
20 Aug Thursday	Buy for €25	Buy for €64