Once again about the London Entombment

Abstract

Historical sources, such as the account books of Renaissance bankers offer valuable information about relationship between artists and commissioners. Yet, it is not easy to use such sources in identifying works of art and to integrate them into the catalogue of an important artist such as Michelangelo Buonarroti. Visual evidences and stylistic parallels are indispensable for art historians who endeavor to attribute new works to Michelangelo. After-life or influence of a work (the number of surviving copies and interpretations) can also be indicative, moreover there are iconological aspects (such as the relationship between mother and son in case of Pietàs) which can also be conclusive. This study proposes to reconsider a hypothesis aroused by earlier scholarship regarding the authorship of the Entombment in London, the National Gallery attributed to Michelangelo. According to some scholars, the author of this painting can probably be found among Florentine mannerists who became under Michelangelo’s influence during work in the Sagrestia Nuova (1520’s).