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This fragment of a larger painting shows an elderly man on a precarious descent down a ladder. His grip is obstructed by a pair of pincers, which he has used to extract the nails which secured Christ to the Cross. Signorelli was noted in his time for his skill at depicting the human body in a variety of complex poses, and here he has conveyed the contortion required for such a broad man to climb such a tall and narrow ladder.The panel was part of an altarpiece showing the Lamentation of Christ at the Foot of the Cross made for the high altar of the church of Sant'Agostino in Matelica, a town in the Italian region of the Marche. Part of the haloed head of a saint, probably Saint John the Evangelist, is visible at the lower right. We know of other fragments which are now in collections across the world.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Man on a Ladder

Date

1504–1505

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 88.3 x W 52 cm

Accession number

NG6659

Acquisition method

accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Gallery, 2016

Work type

Painting

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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Artist or maker

Luca Signorelli

c.1450–1523

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