The Deposition

After the Kingdom of Naples-Sicily came under Habsburg rule as a result of
treaties ending the War of the Spanish Succession (1713 and 1714), it seemed an obvious choice to hire one of the most successful painters in Naples, Francesco Solimena, for projects in the imperial capital of Vienna and the surrounding area. Prince Eugene of Savoy had been commander in chief during the wars against the Turks and the War of the Spanish Succession and was also one of the most important architectural patrons of Baroque Vienna. He commissioned Solimena to create an altarpiece for Schlosshof, the hunting lodge that he had remodelled to the east of the capital in 1726. Here the artist created a lively interplay of light and shadow but did so in a manner that was different from Caravaggio’s. Solimena’s
chiaroscuro serves not to clarify the composition but rather to separate the
bodies into their individual component parts, creating a fragmented surface that makes a restless impression. The ladders and the Cross, which Nicodemus has climbed up to from behind, counter this fragmentation by creating a strong formal framework. Christ’s body is being handed down from above and is already in steady hands below. The viewer’s gaze is led first to the body and then directed by the extended right arm of the crimson-clad Joseph of Arimathea to the group of mourning women. A deathly pale Virgin Mary makes their importance clear and contributes to the stability and legibility of the composition. The mirror-image facial expressions of Christ and Mary have a highly emotional quality, and there is a correspondingly nervous use of colour. These principles were later developed further by Rococo painters, especially in Central Europe. Francesco Solimena was their most important predecessor and forerunner. © Cäcilia Bischoff, Masterpieces of the Picture Gallery, Vienna 2010