The Resurrection

This is the final scene in the predella of an altarpiece that Ugolino made for the church of Santa Croce, Florence. It came after a scene showing mourners lamenting over Christ’s body before his burial (now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin).Four Roman soldiers – the guards of Christ’s tomb, stationed to prevent anyone stealing the body – sleep on the ground. Christ, holding the red and white flag of the Resurrection, steps out of the tomb, its lid cast aside on the ground behind. The soldiers, in chain mail and helmets, hold shields, in anticipation of physical attack (these were once covered with silver leaf, which has now darkened). But the Resurrection was miraculous – it could not have been prevented by the soldiers. Like The Betrayal of Christ, the image emphasises the Jewish and Roman authorities' misunderstanding of Christ’s power, which he had always preached was not earthly but spiritual.Ugolino based the scenes in this predella series on versions that his Sienese predecessor, Duccio, made for the altarpiece called the Maestà. Duccio’s image of the Resurrection does not survive, so this panel is important for giving us an impression of what that version may have looked like. The composition is similar to contemporary tomb sculpture found in both Siena and Florence in the early fourteenth century, suggesting that there was a standard composition for the image.