Entombment 1500 - 1600

Maso da San Friano created this emotive pen and ink wash drawing, Entombment, sometime in the mid-16th century. In the work, we see the body of Christ being prepared for burial. During the 16th century in Florence, artists were navigating a complex interplay of religious reform and artistic innovation. Maso da San Friano, though lesser-known than his contemporaries, was contributing to the visual culture of his time. We see the emotional intensity of the scene evoked through the figures' gestures and expressions. The identities of the women, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, central to the narrative, are rendered with a sensitivity that reflects the evolving role of female figures in religious art. Maso, working within the confines of religious commissions, still infused his work with an emotional depth. The drawing invites us to consider the tensions between tradition and innovation, faith and doubt, that characterized the artistic landscape of Renaissance Florence.