The J. Paul Getty Museum

According to the Gospels, Christ rose from his tomb on the third day after his death. This image shows the moment when holy women--who had come to Christ's grave to anoint his body in keeping with funeral rites--are greeted by a magnificent angel who points to the tomb, telling them that Christ is no longer there. For the medieval viewer, Christ's missing body was a sign of his triumph over death. Here, rather than simply depicting an empty tomb, the artist articulated the shocking absence of a body through a gap in the shroud between the head and neck area, graphically demonstrating the emptiness within.