Descent from the Cross
By: Linda, Ingrid
and Nicole C.
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His Life
Characteristics of his Art
Religious Story
Analysis of the Painting
Symbolism
• Rogier van der Weyden was born in 1399 and
died 1464
• He was the third greatest artist of early Flemish
paintings
• He became the official painter for the city of
Brussels in 1435
• His style focused especially on human emotion.
• He worked on large surfaces
• He had a great influence on many artists
• He never signed his work
• The artwork is usually religious
biblical art or portraits.
• The use of line and faint
shading in the portraits.
• The artist uses drama and
emotion to emphasize the
facial expressions
The bodies of the figures are
twisted and blended to highlight
strong emotions.
• The artist demonstrates
the lively use of colour
• The figures in the
paintings are organized
carefully and placed
together perfectly
• The art work shows clear and balanced
composition.
• Jesus is taken
down from the
cross by John the
Evangelist and
Nicodemus.
• hardly painted with
any wounds or
injuries from
crucifixion
Rogier van der Weyden, Descent from
the Cross, ca 1435. Oil on panel
• Left: Mary
Magdalene in the
purple dress & red
sleeves
• Virgin Mary: woman
in blue
Rogier van der Weyden, Descent from
the Cross, ca 1435. Oil on panel
• "S" curve: Virgin
Mary’s grief and
sorrow causes her
to faint and her body
is placed in the
similar as her son.
• Skull: is a symbol of death
and mortality. It also reminds
us that we are looking at Golgotha,
the Mount of Skulls, where Jesus
was crucified. The skull also
represents Adam from the creation story
because Adam was also believed to have been
buried near the site of Christ's crucifixion. This is
also a symbol that Jesus has died to save us
from Adam's original sin.
• Cross: mean both
suffering when Jesus
was crucified and
triumph for the
redemption of the world
from sin.
• The "s" curve: both of
Jesus and Mary's bodies
are positioned in a "S"
shape to show their
relationship to each
other
• Crossbows: is a symbol of van der Weyden
gratitude and respect towards St. Georges Guild of
Crossbowmen at Louvain for commission of
painting " Descent from the Cross". Christ and
Virgin Mary both have their feet held together and
their arms in a bowed extension making their
bodies resemble a crossbow.
By: Linda, Ingrid and Nicole C.