The Entombment of Christ

The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio (c. 1602) and Jacopo da Pontormo (c. 1525) are two paintings that communicate the same message yet have a wide degree of disparity in expression. The two artists developed their paintings in different periods with a gap of 77 years (Vasari 87). Jacopo da Pontormo developed the art in 1525 while Caravaggio painted a picture with the same theme in 1602. The Entombment of Christ is the name taken by the two pieces of art. The wide gap between the two pieces of art could possibly be the main reason behind the disparity in their presentation. The historical timing of the two pieces of art is similar. All the pictures tell the story of the entombment of Christ. The people in the pictures appear to be transferring Christ to some tomb somewhere. Even though the theme in these two pieces of art is one, they have great rift in technique. Pontormo uses a lot of light in his painting. Caravaggio’s painting is however dark. The reality of the two pictures also illustrates contrast.

The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio (c. 1602)

This piece of art illustrates men and women carrying a body (Friedlaender 34). The people appear to be in great emotional commitment in their assignment. The carried body appears like the dead Christ. This however is a proposal obtained from the name. This piece of art is marked as “the entombment of Christ”. According to the painter, the people in this piece of art have a mission to bury the body of Christ in a tomb. Christ had been crucified some days prior to this day of entombment. Men and women are both concerned about the process of entombing Christ. The picture has great extent of realism. The use of dark color makes it very real (Varriano 67). There is sharp contrast in the use of lines. Sharp demarcations exist in the boundaries. One woman is carrying her hand. She must be possibly making some prayers. The orientation and position of the events is quite visible. Caravaggio’s work is interesting and easy to understand.

The Entombment of Christ by Jacopo da Pontormo (c. 1525)

Jacopo da Pontormo’s work delivers a theme of entombment of Christ. Men, women and the youth are seen in this picture. Some of them are carrying the body of a person who is most likely to be the dead Christ. The people in the piece of art appear to be in a great commotion. The looks in their faces tell it all. The piece of art however fails to give a detained illustration of the position and place of the picture. Jacopo da Pontormo’s work appears a lot artificial than real (Krystof 83). Some people are seen to hand in the air. One is left to wonder whether the force of gravity has been declared null in this piece of art.  Jacopo da Pontormo also fails to give a clear demarcation of lines and boundaries. There is too mush color in the piece of art. Reality is very far from this picture.

Comparison of Jacopo da Pontormo and Caravaggio’s work

Caravaggio painted in c. 1602 while Jacopo da Pontormo did his work in 1525. Jacopo da Pontormo’s work is very artificial. Most of the elements in entombment of the Christ art appear to make little sense in nature. The people carrying the dead body appear to be handing in the air. This should not be the case. A dead body is very heavy and would call for a stable ground. The painting done by Caravaggio however has a great sense of realism (Moir 94). Research has it that Caravaggio always developed art that is of realism genre. In Caravaggio’s art, the carriers of the body appear to be stepping on a rock or piece of wood. This guarantees their stability in the real sense.

The use of light and color is quite conspicuous in the work of Jacopo da Pontormo. He uses too must light and color in his illustrations (Krystof, 91). Too much light even goes to an extent of spoiling the message being communicated. Caravaggio however uses moderate light. Some dark parts appear in his work. This helps to create the aspect of realism. Caravaggio also uses color to create distinctions in boundary. One can easily see a clear separation of lines due to the shadings done in dark. Caravaggio’s work was developed many years after the 1525 piece of work. No wonder it has some degree of accuracy and maturity.

The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio (c. 1602) and Jacopo da Pontormo (c. 1525) are two pieces of art that create a great sense of interest. The illustrations have the same theme on the death and entombment of the Christ. The sharp discrepancy between the two pieces of art could be a result of time periods. Jacopo da Pontormo work was developed in 1525. This early times had its own disadvantages which could have impacted on Jacopo da Pontormo. His drawing lacks clear boundary and line separation. The picture lacks a good background hence creating a sense of confusion. Caravaggio work on the other side is quite impressive and realistic. Caravaggio could have developed good paintings due to the greater availability of resources and materials compared to the 1525 artists. These pictures are therefore very integral in delivering a message of progress and historical transition of art from generation to generation.