The Passion of Christ

Giovan Battista Naldini's painting with evident devotional intent, executed probably around 1580, concentrates in a single and dramatic view the principal scenes from the Passion of Christ.
On the left the image shows Christ being tortured while he is tied to a column with ropes. Next to him, a tormentor is ready to strike another blow with his whip. Under a dark, cloudy sky in the centre of the painting, Christ appears crucified along with two thieves. Towards the bottom, Longinus - on a white horse - holds a spear with which he has just pierced Christ's side, which is bloodied. In the foreground, pious women support the Virgin Mary, who is on the verge of collapsing. On the right, in the background, is depicted the descent from the cross. Jesus, lifeless, is lowered into an oblique position. Under him, the Virgin Mary faints in the same position. In the foreground, the mother mourns the son. In the background, in the far right of the painting, on top of a hill, it is possible to see the Resurrection of Christ. 
All these episodes are distributed on different levels in a continuous narrative, a practice prevalent throughout the fifteenth century. However, in Naldini's time, the work was considered to be outdated. Perhaps the artist purposefully used this type of traditional composition, in light of the didactic and devotional intentions that were intended by the vision of the scenes. This was in accordance with the Counter-Reformation climate. 
The pictorial pieces are made particularly vivid and dramatic thanks to an almost visionary colour, played on brown and rosacea-blue tones, which are reminiscent of Pontormo, his first teacher, as well as Giorgio Vasari, with whom Naldini collaborated on various occasions. The cold intonation of the colour is influenced by the works of Nordic artists that Naldini admired in Rome.