The ''Dead Christ Held by Two Angels'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist

Marco Palmezzano Marco Palmezzano (1460–1539) was an Italian painter and architect, belonging to the Forlì painting school, who painted in a style recalling earlier Northern Renaissance models. He was mostly active near Forlì. Biography Palmezzano was b ...

, finished in 1510. It is housed in the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

of Paris, France. The centre of the scene is occupied by the dead figure of Christ, portrayed with great attention to anatomical details, but also with evident religious piety; the brightness of his body is further enhanced by the dark stone, resembling a black cave, depicted in the background. This contrast can also have the allegorical meaning of Jesus leaving sin and death behind his shoulders. Jesus assumes in this way the evangelic role of proclamation of the end of the dark era of humanity, as also remembered by the presence of the two angels. The work is influenced by those of

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

, which Palmezzano saw in his sojourn in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1489–1495.

External links

Page at Louvre Museum
{{16C-painting-stub 1510 paintings Paintings depicting Jesus Paintings in the Louvre by Italian artists Angels in art