The Descent from the Cross or Deposition of Christ, is a common scene in Western art, inspired by the Gospels’ accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion (John 19:38-42). Completed by Rubens in 1614, his own interpretation of the subject forms the central panel of a triptych, now held in the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp. The Descent from the Cross was commissioned in 1611 for the altar of the Harquebusiers, a medieval “Bowmen’s Guild” that later formed a charitable fraternity in the cathedral. In his portrayal of the heroic dead body of Christ, Rubens borrowed from the classical group statue of Laocoön and his Sons. The torso of the suffering Trojan priest is reversed in Rubens’ depiction of Christ, adapting the figure being lowered from the cross by disciples. Standing on the ladder at the right, Nicodemus’ figure mirrors Laocoön’s elder son, once again stressing the artist’s debt to Roman sculpture.
The side panels of the triptych illustrate the Visitation on the left and the Presentation in the Temple on the right, whilst the outside shutters present the medieval legend of St. Christopher and the Hermit, though these were not completed until after the central panel had been installed two years previously in 1612. The combined iconography celebrates the guild’s patron saint, Christopher. Due to his Greek name, Christophoros (Christ bearer), he is portrayed carrying the Christ Child across a river. Each of the three subjects on the inside panels also illustrate the bearing of Christ. The Virgin carries Christ in her womb as she visits her cousin Elizabeth and the high priest Simeon holds the Christ Child as Mary raises her arms to receive him.
When beholding the triptych for the first time in 1781, Sir Joshua Reynolds is reported to have openly declared that Rubens’ Christ was “one of the finest figures that ever was invented.”