Pietà (Flandrin)

Flandrin was a devout Roman Catholic and dedicated a large part of his work to religious inspired painting. This depiction of large dimensions of the dead Jesus in the tomb is rather unusual and original for his time. It is believed that this work was inspired by the recent death of his brother Auguste Flandrin (1804–1842), who was also a painter, and that the face of Jesus in the painting was inspired by his.[2]

In fact, Jesus appears totally naked in the tomb, without his genital organs visible, lying in a white shroud, with the background of a desertic and enigmatic landscape. Only another figure is visible in the painting, a woman, dressed in black. The female figure is traditionally identified with the Virgin Mary, but despite her clothing matching her traditional depiction, except for the entirely black colour, in this case her facial features aren't visible, which gives an even more disturbing element to the painting. The background is almost entirely dark, except for the light that seems to be appearing in the horizon. The corpse of Jesus appears illuminated from above, which makes a contrast with the figure in black that stares at Him.[3][4][5]

It has been speculated that the woman dressed in black is in fact more a symbol of death, which would relate it to the recent death of Flandrin's older brother. It has been also claimed that the painting questions the traditional Christian belief in Jesus resurrection, which seems unlikely because Flandrin was a devout Catholic.[6]