The story of the events leading up to and following the Crucifixion is known as the Passion of Christ.

To celebrate Easter let’s discover the story of the Passion, told through our very own paintings.

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Easter is one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar. It celebrates Christ’s resurrection on the third day after his crucifixion.

Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as Holy Week, including Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper, and Good Friday.

Palm Sunday

This is the Sunday before Easter Sunday and celebrates Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Crowds of people came out of the city to greet him, throwing down palm branches on the road.

After this came the second Purification of the Temple (Matthew 21: 12–13). Jesus drove the traders out of the Temple in Jerusalem, accusing them of turning a house of prayer into a den of thieves.

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This painting is by Marcello Venusti. Although the drama is centred on Jesus and the crowd of figures, the majority of the composition is devoted to the architecture: https://bit.ly/2V57Ef8 

On Maundy Thursday Christians remember when Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples, breaking bread and drinking wine. Christians refer to this meal as the Last Supper.

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This small panel by Ercole de' Roberti has an unusual dual function. It was the central panel of a predella (the lowest part of an altarpiece)but evidence of a keyhole suggests that it was also the door of a hidden container housing the bread eaten at Mass: https://bit.ly/34dZ6Xq 

That Passover meal was when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in an extraordinary display of humility. He then commanded them to do the same for each other.

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This painting by Jacopo Tintoretto was commissioned by the Scuola di Santissimo Sacramento for the chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament in S. Trovaso, Venice, where it hung opposite Tintoretto’s 'Last Supper' which is still in the chapel today: https://bit.ly/2Ql0X9u 

Good Friday commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. Good Friday is a day of mourning in church. During special Good Friday services Christians remember Jesus's suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith.

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This altarpiece is one of Raphael’s earliest works. It was commissioned by the wool merchant and banker Domenico Gavari for his burial chapel dedicated to Saint Jerome in the church of S. Domenico in Città di Castello, Umbria: https://bit.ly/2RhKCR1 

Easter Sunday marks Jesus's resurrection.

After Jesus was crucified on the Friday his body was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers and an enormous stone was put over the entrance.

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Here Ugolino di Nerio depicts the four Roman soldiers asleep on the ground. Christ, holding the flag of the Resurrection, steps out of the tomb, its lid cast aside on the ground behind: https://bit.ly/39JTJQL 

On Sunday Mary Magdalene and some of Jesus's disciples visited the tomb. They found the stone had been moved and that Jesus's body had gone.

Jesus was seen later that day by Mary and the disciples, and for 40 days afterwards by many people.

His followers realised that God had raised Jesus from the dead.

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This is one of the earliest works by Titian in our collection. Its high-key colours and the way the figures are set in a natural landscape echo the style of Giorgione, with whom Titian trained. The lines of the tree and the hillside draw attention to the look between the figures.

You can learn more about these paintings and the Easter story here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/the-easter-story

You can also take a virtual stroll of our Sainsbury Wing to discover more about the collection of early paintings in the Gallery here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/virtual-tours/sainsbury-wing-vr-tour

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