Descent from the Cross (Painting)

From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Frans Floris (1516-1570)
Oil on wood
44.1 x 34.9 (17 3/8 x 13 ¾ inches)

Thomas Jefferson purchased Descent from the Cross^[1] before 1789, along with two other northern Renaissance paintings, though it is not known where he made this particular purchase. He could have acquired it in the Netherlands in the early spring of 1788 when he visited Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam- or elsewhere.

Jefferson described the painting in his Catalogue as:

"A descent from the cross on wood. A groupe of 5. figures. The body of Jesus is reclined on the ground, the head and shoulders supported in the lap of his mother, who with four others, women from Galilee, are weeping over him. The figures are whole lengths; the principal one 13.1. It is an original by Francis Floris."

Due to its small size, the Descent from the Cross hung where it would be most visible on the lowest of three tiers in the Monticello Parlor.

Provenance: Thomas Jefferson; by purchase to an unidentified buyer at the Harding Gallery sale in 1833; by gift or purchase to Sarah S. Schellens; by gift to Thomas Jefferson Foundation in 1974, still bearing its label from the Harding sale on its back.

Footnote

1. ↑ This article is based on Stein, Worlds, 145.