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A black line drawing on a white background shows four abstract figures. The central figure is shown on a cross with arms outstretched. Two rounded forms represent two figures at the base of the cross. A fourth figure is shown at the top of the ladder, which leans towards the cross. The number 13 is centered at the bottom.

Station 13: Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross and Given Back to His Mother

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Henri Matisse
Date:
1951
Medium:
Black enamel brushwork on ceramic panel

Visual Description:
Station 13, positioned near the right of the top row, measures three tiles high and three tiles wide. Near the top of the scene, a jumble of black lines loosely depicts Jesus’ body on an upright cross. A second cluster of lines adjacent to the figure on the cross indicates another figure perched at the top of a ladder. The ladder extends from the lower right corner of the scene to meet the top of the upright cross. Two rounded, blob-like forms at the bottom of the scene flank the cross and ladder, representing mourners with heads downturned.

BMA

A black line drawing on a white background shows four abstract figures. The central figure is shown on a cross with arms outstretched. Two rounded forms represent two figures at the base of the cross. A fourth figure is shown at the top of the ladder, which leans towards the cross. The number 13 is centered at the bottom.
Henri Matisse. Detail of The Stations of the Cross, Chapel of the Rosary, Vence. All copyright-protected works by Henri Matisse © 2025 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: © Musée Matisse Nice/François Fernandez