Christ in the Sepulchre
by BOTTICELLI, Sandro, Tempera on panel, 21 x 41 cm
The picture shows the fourth (central) predella panel of the St Barnaba Altarpiece.
The Passion of Christ, to which the large main panel also alludes, is the theme of the predella panel. Christ is standing in a stone sarcophagus, displaying his stigmata. In front of him lie the instruments of his Passion, the crown of thorns and nails. To the right, in the background, the Bearing of the Cross can be made out. To the left, swans are swimming on a river. They were well-known for their delightful death songs.