The Deposition

The somber dignity of the mourning figures and the austere simplicity of this composition greatly impressed David’s contemporaries, who produced a number of copies and variants of The Deposition. The work is among the earliest extant Northern European paintings executed in oil on canvas, rather than on panel; a water-based paint such as tempera is more commonly found in Flemish works on fabric supports at this period. In The Deposition the oil medium brings out the subtle ranges of the cold but vibrant hues and the nuances of the finely rendered details — seen, for example, in the skull and bones hauntingly prominent in the foreground.

Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.