The Deposition

Artist Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet (French, 1644-1717)

Date1709

DimensionsH: 70 1/8 in. (178 cm); W: 54 in. (139 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1974.56

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 27

Label TextJean-Baptiste Jouvenet’s Deposition depicts the dramatic moment when the body of Christ has been lowered from the cross. A halo emanates from his head, symbolizing his divinity. Around him are his grieving family, friends, and followers. Their reactions to the event convey the immensity of their anguish. On the left, Nicodemus, who provided the embalming spices for the body, crouches down and prepares to cover Jesus with a shroud. Standing next to him, the tearful Virgin Mary entreats God on behalf of her crucified son. The Apostle John kneels beside Jesus, reverently lifting the body’s hand. Mary Magdalene crouches in the shadows behind John, weeping as she holds a piece of the shroud to her face. Behind her is an anonymous figure, entirely shrouded, who seems to symbolize utter grief. On the far right stands the richly dressed Joseph of Arimathea, who provided the tomb for Jesus’s burial.Published ReferencesB. N. (Benedict Nicolson), Burlington Magazine, CXVI, July 1974, p. 418.

Schnapper, Antoine, Jean Jouvenet et la peinture d'histoire à Paris, Paris, 1974, pp. 26, 143, 144, 214. no. 126, fig. 141.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 87, pl. 190.

Rosenberg, Pierre, "French Painting in the Age of Louis XV," Art News, vol. 74, no. 9, Nov. 1975, repr. p. 33 (col.).

"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 87, no. 1286, Mar. 1976, repr. p. 42.

"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 19, nos. 2, 3, 1976, p. 61, repr.

Schulze, Franz, "A Consistently Discriminating Connoisseurship;" Art News, vol. 76, no. 4, Apr. 1977, p. 67.

European Paintings 1550-1800, New York, Colnaghi, 31 Oct. to 7 Dec., 1985, pp. 60-62.

Duncan, Sally Anne, Otto Wittmann: Museum Man for All Seasons, Toledo, OH, 2001, p. 23.

Schnapper, Antoine, and Christine Gouzi, Jean Jouvenet, 1644-1717: et la peinture d'histoire a Paris, Paris, Athena, 2010, pp. 282-283, pl. 185, p. 282.

Exhibition HistoryLondon, Heim, Religious and Biblical Themes in French Baroque Painting, 1974, no. 14, repr. (entry by A. Schnapper).

Toledo Museum of Art, The Age of Louis XV: French Painting 1710-1774, 1975, no. 49, pl. I (color), pl. 4. (cat. byb P. Rosenberg).

Rochester, NY, Memorial Art Gallery; New Brunswick, NJ, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum; Atlanta, High Museum of Art at Georgia-Pacific Center, La Grand Manière, Historical and Religious Painting in France 1700-1800, 1987, no. 28, p. 108, repr. p. 120 (col.).