The Women going to the Sepulchre

This 1912 painting shows a scene from the Bible: Jesus’s mother leading a procession of holy women to Christ's tomb the day after he died by crucifixion. The women carry fragrant oils to anoint the body. When they reach the tomb, the story goes, they discover that Jesus’s body is not there because he has risen from the dead.

Robert Anning Bell chose to depict this quiet moment just before the women find that Christ's body has disappeared. The painting has an air of solemn piety evoked by the cool, subdued colours, frieze-like composition and barren landscape.