Christ in Limbo
circa 1655
Imagine the ultimate rescue mission: that's what Alonso Cano is depicting here in this intense Spanish Baroque masterpiece. Christ has just died on the cross and is descending into Limbo—the waiting room for souls—to break down the gates and save the righteous figures from the Old Testament. Notice how Christ's body looks incredibly solid, almost like a marble statue? That's because Cano was a famous sculptor as well as a painter, and he treated his canvas like a block of stone. The tattered flag he holds is the banner of victory, signaling that death has been defeated, while the shadowy figures reach out in awe and desperation.
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