Chalice Archive
In this painting the angels are dressing the dead Jesus. The subject is Byzantine in origin and rare in Western art. The mattress, covered with red velvet is a stylized variant of the “red-stone” relic, formerly in the Byzantine Pantokrator church. According to an apocryphal legend, Christ was lying on this stone when the angels anointed him and covered him with the shroud. The legendary event, shown on the small painting on copper, is supplemented with a liturgical reference: on the altar in the background, we can see a chalice, symbolizing the mystery of the Eucharist. Alessandro Allori works with definite contours, models like a sculptor and paints numerous small details. The painting is signed in the centre of the altar-step: ALESSANDRO BRONZINO ALLORI FACEVA.