The Descent from the Cross, or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion. In Byzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the 10th century. The Descent from the Cross is the 13th Station of the Cross, and is also the sixth of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Rosso Fiorentino. Descent from the Cross. 1521. Oil on wood. 375 × 196 cm. Pinacoteca Comunale di Volterra, Italy.
Pontormo. The Descent from the Cross. 1525–1528.
Peter Paul Rubens. The Descent from the Cross. 1612–1614.
Descent from the Cross, 14th century, oil on wood, Italy
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, a Pharisee who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several towns. A number of stories about him developed during the Middle Ages.
14th century Byzantine Icon of the Descent from the Cross from the Church of Saint Marina in Kalopanagiotis, Cyprus. Saint Joseph of Arimathea is the figure standing in the center, in blue-green robes holding the Body of Christ.
Joseph of Arimathea by Pietro Perugino, a detail from his Lamentation over the Dead Christ.
Purported tomb of Jesus (provided by Joseph) in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
William Blake's Illustration Joseph of Arimathea Among the Rocks of Albion in its second state after Blake's 1773 original, engraved circa 1809