The Apostles Carry the Body of the Virgin to the Tomb

THE APOSTLES CARRY THE BODY OF THE VIRGIN TO THE TOMB. This is a very uncommon subject. There is a most beautiful example by Taddeo Bartolo (Siena, Palazzo Pubblico) full of profound religious feeling. There is a small engraving by Bonasone, in a series of the Life of the Virgin, apparently after Parmigiano, in which the apostles bear her on their shoulders over rocky ground, and appear to be descending into the Valley of Jehoshaphat : underneath are these lines :

Portan gli uomini santi in su le spalle
Al Sepolcro it corpo di Maria
Di Josaphat nella famosa valle.

There is another picture of this subject by Ludovico Caracci, at Parma.