Getty Museum

The Women at the Tomb

Date

late 13th century

Medium

Tempera colors and gold leaf

Culture

Byzantine

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

According to the Gospels, Christ rose from his tomb on the third day after his death. This image shows the moment when holy women--who had come to Christ's grave to anoint his body in keeping with funeral rites--are greeted by a magnificent angel who points to the tomb, telling them that Christ is no longer there. For the medieval viewer, Christ's missing body was a sign of his triumph over death. Here, rather than simply depicting an empty tomb, the artist articulated the shocking absence of a body through a gap in the shroud between the head and neck area, graphically demonstrating the emptiness within.

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