la Mise au tombeau

Jean Bourdichon's La Mise au tombeau — the Entombment of Christ — represents a rare surviving panel by one of the most celebrated French court painters of the late fifteenth century, best known for his magnificent illuminated manuscript the Hours of Anne of Brittany. Bourdichon, royal painter to four French kings from Louis XI through Francis I, brought the refinement of manuscript illumination to devotional panel painting, creating works of exceptional jewel-like color and elegant figure style. This Entombment, painted for a private patron, shows how the miniaturist's eye for delicate detail and precious material could transfer to larger-scale devotional work.

The entombment scene places Christ's body at the center of the composition, with mourning figures arranged with the elegant restraint characteristic of French court taste. Bourdichon's miniaturist training is visible in the jewel-like color, meticulous drapery, and the careful rendering of each face's grief.