This was likely the first of Dürer’s engravings executed after his return from Italy and probably the earliest of the plates for the Engraved Passion. It differs from the other scenes in that the background is predominantly white, emphasizing the dramatic pose of Mary Magdalene, who wrings her upraised hands in sorrow. To the right stand Joseph of Arimathea, wearing a pointed hat, and Nicodemus, with a jar of spices that will be placed in the linen cloth wrapped around Christ’s body. Details such as the building seen through the ladder rungs or the face of a mourner obscured in shadow between Mary and St. John demonstrate Dürer’s extraordinary skills in the medium.
