The Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another Friar

The Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another Friar

Jacopo Ligozzi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

After the Crucifixion Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and respected man, secretly a disciple of Jesus, took the body of Christ from the cross. He is seen on the left supporting Christ's body. As first recognized by W. R. Jeudwine (1965), this finished drawing, preciously highlighted in gold, is a study with minor variants for a painting now at the Museo Civico in San Gimignano, which was signed and dated by Ligozzi in 1591. The presence of Saint Francis and another friar indicates that the painting was meant for a Franciscan sanctuary. (See: Bean 1990; Conigliello 1992 and here ‘References’ for full bibliography on this drawing).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another FriarThe Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another FriarThe Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another FriarThe Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another FriarThe Descent from the Cross with Saint Francis and Another Friar

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.