s The Deposition - Hull Museums Collections

The Deposition

Ribot was a painter of genre and history scenes, portraits and still lifes and an accomplished watercolourist. Following the death of his father he moved to Paris, and later spent three years in England. He then returned to Paris where he made copies from the work of Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), one of the most important pre-Revolutionary French painters. He won several medals for his work and was admired by a wide public, particularly for his religious paintings. The Deposition shows the Virgin Mary grieving for Christ after his removal from the cross. In its sombre tones and the earthy realism of the figures it reflects Ribot's admiration for the work of Gustave Courbet (1819-77) and the influential Spaniard Diego Velazquez (1599-1660). The strong triangular composition is an artistic convention for the depiction of the Virgin and Christ after his death. The title given to such representation is 'the Pieta'. At his death Christ becomes 'The Body of Christ', and it is the physical nature of his passing that Ribot's figures emphasise, whilst the lighted faces of the Virgin and Christ allude to the spiritual.