Artwork
The Deposition
The Deposition is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Bertholet Flémal. It dates from 1652 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
In this iconography, the dead Christ’s limp body and the gathering of mourners convey themes of loss and redemption central to Christian narrative.
The work depicts the Descent from the Cross, a moment from the Passion of Christ in which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lower Jesus’s body from the cross after the Crucifixion. Mary, mother of Jesus, appears in a swoon, supported by attendants, while other figures gather around the lifeless body. The scene is set beneath the cross, with the Virgin’s blue mantle and the pallor of Christ’s flesh forming central visual contrasts.
In this iconography, the dead Christ’s limp body and the gathering of mourners convey themes of loss and redemption central to Christian narrative. The composition emphasizes human grief while pointing toward the promise of resurrection.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1652, The Deposition is an oil painting on canvas by Bertholet Flémal. The work measures 1432 cm in height and 1124 cm in width, presenting a large-scale religious composition. Stylistically, the piece depicts the Descent from the Cross, focusing on the figure of Jesus Christ as its central subject.
The application of oil paint on a fabric support aligns with standard seventeenth-century practices for monumental altar pieces or devotional works intended for public or significant private display.
History & Provenance
The Deposition was executed in 1652 by the Flemish painter Bertholet Flémal in oil on canvas. While no documentary evidence of a specific commission has been identified, the work entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains today. Its dating is based on the artist’s inscription and stylistic analysis, placing it firmly within the mid‑seventeenth‑century output of Flémal’s religious oeuvre.
The painting has remained in the museum’s holdings since its acquisition, with no recorded changes of ownership prior to that point.
The Deposition, an oil painting by Bertholet Flémal created in 1652, is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. The work is cataloged within the museum's holdings, which classify it as a religious artwork depicting the Descent from the Cross. While the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available records, the piece remains part of the institution's permanent collection. No exhibition history for this specific painting is documented in the provided sources.
Overview
Bertholet Flémal’s oil on canvas, dated 1652, presents a solemn scene commonly identified as the Deposition. The work resides in the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is displayed among the museum’s Baroque holdings. The composition centers on a group of figures gathered around a fallen man, evoking the biblical moment of Christ’s removal from the cross.
Context
The work aligns with the Counter‑Reformation’s emphasis on emotionally charged religious imagery, a trend prevalent in mid‑1600s European art. Flémal, working within this milieu, adopts compositional strategies reminiscent of Caravaggio’s dramatic lighting, yet retains a distinctly Scandinavian restraint in color and figure handling.
Artist & collection
