Abnahme Christi vom Kreuz

The Master of the Freising Passion depicted this Descent from the Cross around 1485 as part of the Freising Cathedral Passion cycle. The physical act of lowering Christ's body from the cross was one of the most compositionally challenging and emotionally intense subjects in the Passion narrative. The Freising Master's treatment emphasizes both the physical weight and the spiritual gravity of the scene. This work belongs to the Early Renaissance, the transformative period in European art when painters first applied mathematical perspective, naturalistic figure modeling, and archaeological interest in antiquity to the inherited traditions of medieval devotional painting.

Oil on panel with complex multi-figure composition showing the removal of Christ's body. The Master's expressive figure drawing conveys the physical effort and emotional grief of the scene.