傑拉德‧大衛（Gerard David,1460-1523）出生在荷蘭奧德瓦特（Oudewater），繪畫受尼德蘭地區前輩畫家楊‧范‧艾克（Jan van Eyck, 1366-1426）等人影響。身處義大利文藝復興蔓延至北方之際，大衛仍以傳統的藝術風格進行創作，在當時相當受歡迎，工作坊委託不斷，成為延續十五世紀初法蘭德斯藝術的重要角色，被視為藝術史上「最後一位具代表性的早期法蘭德斯畫家」（Last of the Flemish primitives）。

此作為大衛經常描繪的「卸下聖體」題材，描繪耶穌被釘死在十架上後，人們將其屍身卸下的情景。拱形的畫面以紅衣男子將耶穌的屍首自十字架上卸下的情景為中心，他站立在階梯上，一手按著梯子，一手披著白布並將耶穌包裹於其中。死去的耶穌雙眼緊閉、膚色發黑、腹部凹陷且四肢僵直。梯子下方的兩側分別是承接聖體的亞利馬太約瑟（Joseph of Arimathea），以及輕吻著耶穌手背的聖母瑪利亞。而瑪利亞後方的則分別是福音書作者聖約翰（Saint John the Evangelist），以及傷心拭淚的抹大拉瑪利亞（Mary Magdalene）。畫中的人物皆無太多的情緒流露，但畫家透過人們或望著耶穌的視線、或親吻耶穌手背、或承接耶穌的手勢，以及傷心拭淚的動作，來表現他們為耶穌之死的悲痛。從人物細緻的毛髮和自然的衣褶，皆展現了畫家精細嫻熟的功力。此外，背景中綿延的綠色山景和深淺不一的藍綠色天光，不僅見其成熟的景深表現手法，更呈現出尼德蘭早期繪畫中講究畫景深和獨特藍綠色天光的典型特色。(徐鈺涵、蔡旻真)

Gerard David (1460-1523) was born in Oudewater, Netherlands. He was active during the spread of the Italian Renaissance to the North, but still worked in traditional styles. He was a popular artist back then and his workshop received endless commissions. He played an important role in extending the Flemish style of art in the 15th century and was seen in art history as the “Last of the Flemish Primitives”.

This work adopts an oft-used theme of David – “The Deposition”. It depicts the crowd removing Jesus' body from the cross after his death. Under the arched scene, the man in the red outfit has wrapped Jesus' body in a shroud and is taking him down from the cross. He is standing on a ladder with one hand holding on to a rung, while the other holds Jesus. In death, Jesus' eyes are closed tightly, his skin turning dark, his stomach sunken, and his limbs stiff. At the bottom of the ladder, Joseph of Arimathea is taking up the body of Jesus, while the Virgin Mary is gently kissing the back of Jesus' hand. Behind the Virgin Mary stand Saint John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene. The figures in the scene do not betray much emotion, but their gazes, the gestures of kissing Jesus' hand or holding out their arms for Jesus' body, and wiping away tears in sorrow, all suggest their suffering and lamentation. The artist's skill is demonstrated through the characters' delicate hair and the natural folds of their clothing. Furthermore, the vast expanse of green mountain scenery and blue-green sky not only show David's maturity in style but also demonstrate the unique features of depth and blue-green sky in early classic Netherlands paintings. (Yu Han HSU)