The Entombment of Christ c. 1450

Fra Angelico painted this panel of the Entombment of Christ in the first half of the 15th century, using tempera on wood. The calm grief of the mourners is typical of Angelico’s deeply spiritual, conservative style, but it is set against a detailed landscape. This calm and clear depiction of grief has a lot to tell us about the social function of art in Florence at this time. Angelico, a friar, would have intended this painting to encourage pious contemplation; he would have wanted to provide a clear image of the key players and their emotional responses to the death of Christ. The inclusion of the instruments of the crucifixion at the lower left of the image invites the viewer to reflect on Christ’s suffering. But the serene faces and carefully posed figures also give us a window onto the ideals of the period. To understand this painting more fully, we can research the history of the institutions, such as the church, which commissioned works of art. And we can think about the role that art played in shaping the social and political attitudes of its day.