• Author: Andrea del Sarto
• Date: c. 1525
• Collection: PAINTING
• Technique: Detached fresco
• Dimensions: 200 x 131,5 cm (with frame)
• Inventory: Inv. 1890 n. 8675

The detached fresco depicts the dead Christ, seated on the tomb while he displays the wounds of the Passion on his limbs and side, according to the iconography of the Vir Dolorum. The forehead is beaded with drops of the blood left by the crown of thorns, which, like the halo, was dry-painted, now lost.
This is a work by Andrea del Sarto, one of the leading figures of the Florentine pictorial scene at the beginning of the 16th century, and the owner of a flourishing workshop where the most important exponents of Mannerism were trained.

The painting was first described by Giorgio Vasari as being in a niche at the top of a staircase in the novitiate of the Florentine Convent della Santissima Annunziata, for which Andrea had already created various works, such as the frescoes in the chiostrino dei Voti (starting in 1509) or the Madonna del Sacco in the Chiostro Grande (1525). In its unique original position, the fresco was intended to be viewed from below, hence the pronounced foreshortening of Christ’s robust form. The mournful atmosphere is accentuated by the almost monochromatic palette, which emphasises the suffering and loneliness in which the Saviour’s sacrifice finds its solemn conclusion.

Some colours, however, stand out: the red of the loincloth, the colour of the Passion, and the yellow of the cloth, an allusion to the betrayal, on which the tip of the spear used to pierce Jesus’ side and the sponge soaked in vinegar are laid.