Entombment

Art Historical Context

Created around 1527–30, Parmigianino’s *Entombment* captures a pivotal moment in Christian narrative: the burial of Christ following the Crucifixion. The Italian artist, whose full name was Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, was a leading figure of the Mannerist movement. His work often features graceful, elongated figures and a refined elegance that departed from the balanced harmony of the High Renaissance. This etching reflects the emotional intensity of the scene through its carefully arranged group of mourners surrounding Christ’s body. As a print medium, etching allowed Parmigianino to explore fluid lines and delicate tonal effects with remarkable freedom. Unlike engraving, which requires laborious cutting into metal, etching uses acid to bite the design into the plate, enabling the spontaneous, sketch-like quality seen here. Produced shortly after the traumatic Sack of Rome in 1527, the work may also carry undertones of contemporary suffering and redemption. Today housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this sheet exemplifies how Parmigianino helped elevate etching from a reproductive technique to a respected art form in its own right.

About the Artist

Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) · 1503–1540

Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, was born on January 11, 1503, in Parma, into a family of artists. The eighth child of painter Filippo Mazzola and Donatella Abbati, he lost his father to the plague at age two and was raised by his uncles, Michele and Pier Ilario Mazzola, modestly talented painters who taught him the techniques of the craft. By his late teens, Parmigianino d...