De graflegging van Christus 1525 - 1540

Parmigianino’s ‘The Entombment of Christ’ captures a scene wrought with grief. Rendered in ink, the somber mood is evoked through the use of dense cross-hatching to create areas of deep shadow that contrast with the stark highlights on the body of Christ. The composition itself is strikingly Mannerist. The figures are elongated and arranged in a dynamic, almost theatrical manner. The central figure of Christ, reclined on the tomb, draws the viewer's eye. He is surrounded by mourners whose gestures and expressions convey profound sorrow. The artwork’s structural elements—the interplay of line and shadow, the elongated forms, and the emotionally charged composition—serve as visual signifiers. They destabilize the traditional Renaissance ideals of harmony and balance, instead favoring a more expressive, emotionally intense mode of representation. In doing so, Parmigianino not only captures the gravity of the entombment, but also signals a shift towards the more stylized aesthetic of Mannerism.