Station 14: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
Station 14: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
Station 14: Prayer
Henri Matisse
Date:
1951
Medium:
Black enamel brushwork on ceramic panel
Visual Description:
Station 14, the final Station depicted here, is positioned in the upper right corner of the mural. It is approximately three tiles high and five tiles wide. A series of quick, expressive black lines suggests a grouping: a figure standing on the left, one lying in the center, and a figure standing on the right. Together they represent Jesus and two mourners who lay his body in its tomb. A single horizontal line with a rectangle at its right end stretches atop a rectangular block, representing Jesus’ lifeless body after it has been removed from the cross. To its left and right are two figures depicted by a few arched lines that appear to lean inwards over the central figure with heads bent downward, in mourning or preparing the body for entombment.