The Deceased Christ Supported by Two Angels

Audio transcription

From an interview with Neville Rowley, curator of the Gemäldegalerie, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

He’s got the stigmata, he’s been nailed to the cross, he has died. These stigmata are depicted incredibly realistic, you can see this on his hands, for instance, and it’s incomprehensible why the blood moves to the upper right and on the other to the left, but then you understand, of course, he’s been nailed to the cross and that was the direction in which the blood dripped. And it is so realistic that you could almost believe that Giovanni Bellini had a real Christ as his model, or at least a figure who’s been crucified. Of course that’s not the case, but it was the painter’s strategy to make the painting more realistic and create more empathy. It isn’t just a figure that’s very far away from us. It is like a mirror. He’s supposed to be like us. This is someone who doesn’t look at us. But it is a God who’s also been a man. That’s the main message of this painting.

Audio transcription

From an interview with Neville Rowley, curator of the Gemäldegalerie, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

The two angels have different feelings. One of them looks at this deceased Christ and sees death, and he’s got no hope. Perhaps the other one who looks towards the heaven, has more hope because after three days or sometime soon, Jesus will resurrect.

What’s peculiar about this painting is that one of the angels is missing a hand. Normally at the time, the figures were always complete, but here, a hand is missing from the angel on the left and a wing of the angel on the right. This seems to have been Giovanni Bellini’s strategy, so that we stand for hours in front of these painting and ask ourselves: where is this hand, where’s this wing? That’s a lot better than directly showing it. Where are we? Does he sit in his tomb or not? What is it with these rose dresses? All these questions that were so important for the devotion.

Perhaps you have to come early to Gemäldegalerie and just look at this painting for an hour and possibly listen a bit of this music.

Audio transcription

From an interview with Gregor Meyer, artistic assistant of the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

Our focus is quickly drawn to Jesus Christ’s face who has died, as we know and as we can tell from the wounds on his hands and his open chest. He’s been crucified and yet his face transports something peaceful, humble and redeemed. It comes across as completely free of pain. And the motet from the Tenebrae Responsories by Tomas Luis de Victoria really relates to this. There’s a refrain that says that Jesus tilts his head and dies. But there are two sentences with different characters, namely:

Jesus spoke these so-called seven last words: “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” This great lamentation, this desperation and mortal fear has found its way into the twenty-second psalm.

And the second time, he cries: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

[Music.]