This powerful composition derives from a stained-glass window made in 1865 for St Olave's Church in Gatcombe, on the Isle of Wight, and attests to the strong connection between Ford Madox Brown's activities as a painter and decorator.
Christ's body is carried to the tomb by Nicodemus, wrapped in an orange-red mantle, and by a young Saint John, who tenderly supports Christ's head. Behind him are depicted Joseph of Arimathea, "the other Mary" and the Madonna, who weeps as she covers her face with a handkerchief. The woman kneeling on the left is the sorrowful Magdalene. The Hebrew inscription above the entrance to the tomb is taken from Deuteronomy
Ford Madox Brown - Entombment, (1821-1893)
The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. You shall write these commandments on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy (6: 4, 6, 9)