Attributed to Luca Martinelli - Deposition

The subject of the "Deposition of Christ" is widespread in Western sacred art. It developed in the Middle Ages, first in frescoes depicting episodes from the Passion and then as a single subject. It then spread widely during the Renaissance and throughout the 17th century. "The Deposition" has two fundamental variations: the first typology concerns the recovery of Christ's body from the cross; the second, its transportation and burial in the tomb. The painting in question belongs to the first typology. The characters depicted are recurring: the man holding the shroud is likely Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus, both engaged in carrying the body. The two women in the foreground, however, are thought to be Our Lady of Sorrows and Mary Magdalene, recognizable by her red hair. The protagonist is always Christ's body, displayed in its redemptive sacrifice. Specifically, according to an expertise carried out on the present work, it would be a replica with variations of the same subject preserved at the Louvre in Paris and attributed to Luca Martinelli, an artist who collaborated with Giambattista Da Ponte.

The attribution to Luca Martinelli, therefore, links this work to the Bassano workshop, which between the 16th and 17th centuries was among the most important in the Veneto region and beyond. The painting's pictorial style also suggests this affiliation. The composition, concentrated entirely in the foreground, which excludes any landscape, indicates a strong influence from Mannerist painting, typical of Bassano's work. Thus, in a decidedly theatrical manner, the figures form an imaginary circle, at the center of which is displayed the body of Christ, the painting's undisputed protagonist. The scene's dramatic impact is further enhanced by the extraordinary use of light, which leaves the onlookers almost in shadow, while fully emphasizing Jesus's chest, highlighting his musculature, which still harks back to a classical ideal of beauty. This theatrical use of light, with its sudden flashes, is undoubtedly linked to the strong influence of Tintoretto's style on the Bassano workshop, although the dark tones of this work already bring it closer to a seventeenth-century, almost Caravaggio-esque aesthetic. Formally, the artist displays excellent pictorial quality, in the perfectly naturalistic rendering of the monumental figures, whose volumes are amplified by the flowing draperies. The tonal unity of the entire surface of the work is also perfect.

The work has been attributed to Luca Martinelli, a painter who, together with his brother Giulio, was active in the Bassano workshop of Giambattista Da Ponte between the 16th and 17th centuries. According to some studies, he was originally from Asolo and died in 1629. The two brothers entered the Bassano workshop during the time of Jacopo, becoming his disciples and attempting to imitate his style.

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