The Entombment
- Artist: Lorenzo Lotto
- Date: c. 1550-1555
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “The Entombment” by Lorenzo Lotto. Painted between 1550 and 1555, it’s an oil on canvas that pushes the familiar biblical scene into something fresh. On the right, two men—turbanned, almost medieval—carry the lifeless Christ toward a modest tomb. On the left, we see his mother, Mary, overwhelmed, fainting among a circle of women in contemporary Italian attire. That contrast between the men’s turbans and the women’s dress is striking; Lotto uses it to underline the tension between the earthly and the divine.
Lotto was a late Renaissance master who spent his final years attached to the Holy House of Loreto, a monastic environment that shaped his intense spirituality. This piece reflects that devotion: the gestures, the somber color palette, the raw emotion all point to a deeply personal engagement with the narrative.
The composition is tight, almost theatrical, guiding the eye from the mournful figures to the looming tomb. Lotto’s brushwork is detailed yet expressive, capturing the texture of fabric and the heaviness of grief. Overall, the painting feels both intimate and solemn, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the human cost of the moment.
See it in person
The Entombment hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
