when the deposition hits a lil different (after Pontormo’s Deposition from the Cross), 92x122cm / 36×48″ acrylic on wood panel, 2026

Pontormo, The Deposition from the Cross, 1528, Santa Felicità Church, Florence (below)

the deposition (for those of us who aren’t up on our biblical tales), is when christ’s body is removed from the cross after the cruxifixction. Mary (typically identified by her blue robe & red undershirt) is often represented in this scene as swooning in co-passion for the death of her son.

Pontormo’s ‘Deposition from the Cross’ (next door) is a pinnacle of Mannerist art, delightful in it’s chaotic energy, attenuated & slightly illogical figuration, & intentional shift away from the idealism of high Renaissance art.

why reference this tho? aside from the allure of the absurdity & chaotic energy of Pontormo’s painting, there is an intriguing confusion among historians around exactly what moment this is in the biblical story. Despite the definitive title, historians are unsure if the moment depicted is the entombment, the deposition, the laying of christ’s body on mary’s lap for the Pietà, the laying of the body on the altar, or the lamentation – no one really knows.

Ambiguity & uncertainty are fertile grounds, and this instability felt like an invitation to fantastically re-interpret this story. What if christ, who supposedly died on the cross for humanities sins, died for not the sins we traditionally associate with this story, but rather for the sins of destroying a world that we share collectively with countless other beings? And what if the co-passion of the mother represented here is actually gratefulness for his sacrifice & for his final recognition of humanities sins razed upon the earth?

pmd 2026