The Dead Christ supported by Two Angels

Giovanni Bellini lived in the artistic circles of his father Jacopo, his half-brother Gentile and his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna; partly as a consequence of these associations, he was familiar with outstanding works of his time in northern Italy. In the second half of the 15th century, Giovanni became one of the best-known and most influential painters in Venice: Giorgione and Titian, for example, learned their trade in his studio. From a stay in Padua he presumably knew Donatello’s relief of Christ and two angels on the high altar of the Basilica of Saint Anthony, which may have been the inspiration for his own depiction of the theme, which he repeated and varied a number of times. In the Berlin version, it is clear that Giovanni Bellini had previously considered the implementation of the motif, as it displays a sure hand in composition and a treatment of colour that was typical for his work in the period from the 1470s.
Giovanni draws the figures closer in, fills the format with them, and creates a concentrated scene by framing it closely. Christ is supported here by two angels that hold his arms. The small hands of the heavenly messengers have to grasp them forcefully. In this way, Giovanni makes the devout beholder conscious of the earthly heaviness of the corpse. The depiction of Christ with clearly visible wounds on his torso and hands testifies to detailed studies of the human body: the folds of skin, wounds and flesh tones appear to have been painted from nature. The areas of colour were interwoven so skilfully that the body of Christ gains a highly three-dimensional appearance. In this compelling portrayal of the main figure, neither explanatory requisites such as the instruments of martyrdom, the so-called Arma Christi, nor a context in landscape with a tomb or a cross are needed. Hugo von Tschudi (1851–1911), who worked at the Gemäldegalerie under Wilhelm von Bode and became director of the Nationalgalerie in 1896, described the scene as follows at the end of the 19th century: “A great intensity of feeling is present in the expression of the angels, whose heads are inclined to that of the Saviour. One of them turns to Christ with his mouth open in lamentation and a penetrating gaze, as if he could not believe that life has departed from this body, while the angel on the right turns his large, childlike eyes sadly upwards – an image of touching submission and trust in God, which cannot be depicted more movingly.”
The melancholy gaze of the angels make this a scene that demands empathy. The close-up, compressed composition does not permit it to be assigned to a location in the real world. It elevates what is represented above any earthly measure. In this way, by means of composition, the artist brings about an intense inner dialogue between the faithful beholder and the devotional painting. Katharina Weick-Joch | 200 Masterpieces of European Painting - Gemäldegalerie Berlin, 2019