3-002-379 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Resurrection, c1390-1410. The depiction of Christ's tomb as a cave appears repeatedly in Italian art of the 14th and early 15th centuries. Here, a glimpse into the cave reveals Christ's marble sarcophagus, now empty. Framed by the shadowy void of the tomb's entrance, the resurrected Christ, emitting rays of light, emerges triumphantly from the darkness. This scene was the last in a series of five predella panels (paintings on the base of an altarpiece) illustrating episodes from the Passion of Christ. The sequence, which can be reconstructed from surviving panels now in other collections, included the Betrayal of Judas, the Way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, and the Lamentation, and concluded with this panel of the Resurrection.