Updated 11 April 2024
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Christ Carried Down to the Tomb
Date | 1859 |
---|---|
Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
Size(cm) | 56.3 x 46.3 |
Inscriptions | Signed and dated lower right: Eug. Delacroix / 1859. |
Credit Line | Purchased |
Standard ref. | Robaut 1380; Johnson 470 |
Category | Paintings |
Collection Number | P.1975-0002 |
This work is related to Christ's Entombment, a work from 1848 now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and is known as one of the 1859 Salon paintings when Delacroix also displayed The Abduction of Rebecca (Musée du Louvre, Paris) and Christ Carrying the Cross (Mainz Municipal Museum). This work reflects the artist's sense of tragedy as he suffered from illness and the deaths of his friends. The work's deep religiosity relates to the character of his revered Rembrandt. According to René Huyghe, the motif of steps moving from above ground to below ground appears in several works by Rembrandt, and the S-shaped form provides the work with appropriate compositional movement. Baudelaire made the following comment regarding this painting in his critique of the 1859 Salon, "There is no finer expression of this theme than Christ Carried Down to the Tomb (originally referred to as The Entombment of Christ). It would take a Titian to create such a work. He would use a different method in the creation of his composition but, yes this is true. However, I much prefer this work . . ." (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.59)
Provenance
A. Bergeaud; A. Magne; Georges Bernheim, Paris; Antonio Santa Marina, Buenos Aires; Auc., London, 1974; Galerie Nathan, Zürich; Purchased by the NMWA, 1975.
Exhibition History
- 1859
- Salon de 1859, Palais des Champs-Elysées, Paris, 15 April 1859 - 0 1859, cat. no. 820
- 1885
- Eugène Delacroix, École National des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 6 March 1885 - 15 April 1885, cat. no. 133
- 1910
- Vingt peintres du 19e siècle, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 2 May 1910 - 31 May 1910, cat. no. 65
- 1933
- Escuela francesa, siglos 19 y 20, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, 20 October 1933 - 5 November 1933, cat. no. 35
- 1939
- Exposiciones de arte francés: I, La pintura francesa, de David a nuestros días, óleos, dibujos y acuarelas, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, 0 July 1939 - 0 August 1939, cat. no. 51
- 1963
- Delacroix, ses maîtres, ses amis, ses élèves, Musée de Bordeaux, 17 May 1963 - 30 September 1963, cat. no. 55
- 1987
- Eugène Delacroix , Kunsthaus Zürich, 5 June 1987 - 23 August 1987, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut Frankfurt am Main, 24 September 1987-10 January 1988, cat. no. 116, col. repr.
- 1988
- Eugène Delacroix , Museo del Prado, Palacio de Villahermosa, 2 March 1988 - 20 April 1988, cat. no. 74, col. repr.
- 1995
- Permanent exhibition, Ohara Museum of Art, 6 March 1995 - 17 July 1995
- 1996
- The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 78
- 1998
- Delacroix: les dernières années, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 7 April 1998 - 20 July 1998, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 10 September 1998-3 January 1999, cat. no. 127, col. repr.
- 2007
- Gods and Nature: The Essence of European Art from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Himeji City Museum of Art, 4 November 2007 - 2 December 2007, cat. no. 6
- 2007
- Gods and Nature: The Essence of European Art from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Matsumoto City Museum of Art, 11 December 2007 - 3 February 2008, cat. no. 6
- 2010
- SHADOWS: Works from the National Museums of Art, The National Art Center, Tokyo, 8 September 2010 - 18 October 2010, cat. no. 39
- 2012
- [Traveling Exhibitions presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2012] Modern European Art: From the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Ibara Municipal Denchu Art Museum (Okayama), 5 October 2012 - 25 November 2012, 01
- 2014
- Voices Calling from the Unusual: Hirano Keiichiro's Selection of Western Art Masterpieces, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 8 April 2014 - 15 June 2014, cat. no. 16
Bibliography
- 1859
- Tardieu, A. Le Constitutionnel. Paris, 22. 4. 1859
- 1859
- Rousseau, J. Figaro. Paris, 10. 5. 1859
- 1859
- Chalons d' Arge, A.-P. Notices sur les principaux tableaux de l'Exposition de 1859. Paris, 1859
- 1859
- Chesneau, E. Livre étude sur l'art contemporain, Salon de 1859. Paris, 1859, pp. 164-166.
- 1859
- Dumas, Alexandre. L'art et les artistes contemporains au Salon de 1859. Paris, Librairie Nouvelle; A. Bourdilliat et ce, 1859, pp. 9-13.
- 1859
- Houssaye, A. Le Monde Illustré. Paris, 7. 5. 1859, p. 295.
- 1859
- Stevens, M. Impression d'une femme au Salon de 1859. Paris, 1859, pp. 26-34.
- 1859
- Baudelaire, Charles. Les curiosités esthétiques. Paris, 1859, pp. 281-290.
- 1859
- Mantz, Paul. Salon de 1859. Gazette des Beaux-Arts. ser. 1, tome 2, 1859, pp. 129-141.
- 1859
- Auvray, Louis. Exposition des Beaux-Arts, Salon de 1859. Paris, 1859, pp. 19-21.
- 1859
- Baudelaire, Charles. Le Salon de 1859. Revue Française. 10/20. 6. and 1/20. 7. 1859
- 1859
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- 1859
- Montaiglon, A. de. Revue universelle des Arts. tome 9, Paris, 1859, p. 442.
- 1859
- Fouquier, Henry. Études artistiques. Marseille, Arnaud, 1859, pp. 7-9.
- 1859
- Fournel, V. Le Correspondant. Paris, 25. 5. 1859, pp. 157-159.
- 1859
- Gautier, Théophile. L'Exposition de 1859, M. Eugène Delacroix. Moniteur Universel. Paris, 21. 5. 1859
- 1859
- Jourdan, L. Les peintres français, Salon de 1859. 1859, pp. 33-35.
- 1859
- Lescure, M. de. La peinture religieuse. Gazette de France. 8. 5. and 14. 6. 1859
- 1859
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- 1859
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- 1859
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- 1864
- Cantaloube, Amédée. Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1864, p. 98.
- 1873
- Moreau, Adolphe. E. Delacroix et son œuvre. Paris, Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1873, p. 193.
- 1885
- Robaut, Alfred. L'œuvre complet d'Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1885, p. 371, no. 1380.
- 1886
- Tourneux, Maurice. Eugène Delacroix devant ses contemporains. Paris, Librairie de l'art, 1886, pp. 98-103.
- 1887
- Véron, Eugène. Eugène Delacroix. Paris, Librairie de l'Art, 1887, p. 102.
- 1916
- Moreau-Nélaton, Étienne. Delacroix raconté par lui-même. vol. 2, Paris, 1916, fig. 405.
- 1929
- Escholier, Raymond. Delacroix: peintre, graveur, écrivain. [vol. 3], Paris, H. Floury, 1929, pp. 241, 249, repr.
- 1960
- Huyghe, René. L'art et l'âme. Paris, Flammarion, 1960, p. 432, fig. 256.
- 1963
- Sérullaz, Maurice. Mémorial de l'exposition Eugéne Delacroix organisée au Musée du Louvre. Paris, Éditions des Musées Nationaux, 1963, nos. 498-499.
- 1964
- Huyghe, René. Delacroix: ou le combat solitaire. [Paris], Hachette, 1964, pp. 482, 483, pl. 366.
- 1969
- Robaut, Alfred; Chesneau, Ernest. L'œuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix: peintures, dessins, gravures, lithographies. New York, Da Capo Press, 1969(1st ed., Paris, 1885), p. 371, no. 1380, repr.
- 1971
- Sérullaz, Maurice. Eugéne Delacroix. New York, Harry N. Abrams, [1971], p. 36, fig. 46.
- 1972
- Bortolatto, Luigina Rossi. L'opera pittorica completa di Delacroix. Milano, Rizzoli, 1972, p. 131, no. 766.
- 1974
- Strauss, Michel; Cooper Douglas. Impressionism & Modern Art. London/New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1974, pp. 2, 3.
- 1977
- Bulletin Annuel du Musée National d’Art Occidental, No. 10 (1975), 1977, Nouvelles acquisitions, par Chisaburoh F. Yamada, p. 5. Nouvelles acquisitions (catalogue). pp. 8-11. repr.
- 1978
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 28, col. repr.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 81, repr.
- 1987
- Eugène Delacroix (exh. cat.). Metken, Günter. Zürich, Das Kunsthaus, 1987, pp. 276-277, 336, cat. no. 116, col. repr.
- 1998
- Delacroix: les Dernières Années (exh. cat.). Philadelphia Museum of Art; Réunion des musées nationaux; Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 1998, pp. 298-303, 378, cat. no. 127, repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 59, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 59, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 75, col. repr.
- 2021
- When Here and Afar Meet: Western Art in Yamagata/Western Art in Takaoka (exh. cat.). Shinfuji, Atsushi, ed. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2021, pp. 110, 182, cat. no. Y3_1 | T3_1, col. repr.