Christ’s Entombment 1665

Jacob Jordaens painted this Entombment of Christ in oil on canvas. It depicts the body of Christ being carried to his tomb. The figures surrounding him express profound grief. Jordaens was a leading artist in 17th-century Flanders, a region shaped by the Catholic Counter-Reformation after the divisions of the Protestant Reformation. Religious art like this served a powerful public role. It visually reinforced Catholic doctrine and encouraged piety and emotional connection among viewers. The scene's visual drama is heightened by the use of tenebrism, a technique employing strong contrasts of light and dark. This was heavily influenced by the Italian artist Caravaggio, a figure whose work, though celebrated, also challenged the established artistic norms of his time. Art historians study the Counter-Reformation, artists' biographies, and the patronage of religious institutions to fully appreciate the complex social forces behind works such as this. The meaning of this work exists not just in its visual elements, but also in the cultural and institutional contexts that shaped its creation and reception.