Homage to Vittore Carpaccio – Gemäldegalerie (Berlin) | 20.11.2025–06.04.2026

“The Preparation of Christ’s Entombment” is one of two large-format masterpieces by Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465–1525/26) represented in the Gemäldegalerie’s collection. In recent years, the painting has undergone extensive examination and restoration. Five hundred years after Carpaccio’s death, the work’s colors now shine again in all their splendor. “The Preparation of Christ’s Entombment” is the centerpiece of a special exhibition that also includes other Venetian paintings from the museum’s own collection, graphic works from the Kupferstichkabinett (Department of Prints and Drawings), and a reproduction of a plate from Aby Warburg’s “Mnemosyne Atlas.”

Image above: Vittore Carpaccio, The Preparation of Christ’s Entombment, c. 1515–1520; Photo: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Thuja Seidel; Public Domain Mark 1.0

The exhibition places “The Preparation of the Tomb” in its thematic and artistic context by allowing comparison with works by Giovanni Bellini, Cima da Conegliano, Palma il Vecchio, Francesco Bissolo, and Carpaccio himself. In addition, two valuable loans from the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) are on display: a preparatory drawing by Carpaccio depicting the dead Christ, and an engraving by Andrea Mantegna that served as inspiration for the Venetian painter.

Carpaccio’s “Tomb Preparation of Christ”

“The Preparation of Christ’s Burial” is a remarkable and enigmatic work. Instead of the more common lamentation, the painter chose the moment between Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection: In the center of the painting, Christ’s body lies in state; behind it, the tomb is being opened, and Joseph of Arimathea is preparing to wash the body. Leaning against a tree is an old man in meditation, presumably Job, an Old Testament forerunner of Christ. Numerous narrative details, set within an idealized landscape, emphasize the contrast between life and death: skulls and skeletal remains in the foreground, and shepherds playing music in the center of the painting.

For the Hamburg art historian Aby Warburg, the “Preparation of Christ’s Entombment” was so significant that he included it in his Mnemosyne Atlas in 1929, alongside works by Donatello and Raphael. The original panel from the atlas has been reproduced for this special exhibition.

Extensively examined and restored

The painting’s poor condition necessitated a comprehensive restoration, carried out by the Gemäldegalerie’s former chief conservator, Babette Hartwieg. Layers of varnish and previous retouching had discolored and had to be removed. Investigations conducted in collaboration with the Rathgen Research Laboratory revealed significant changes in certain areas of color, which had to be taken into account when selecting restoration methods. Visitors are provided with information at varying levels of detail regarding the investigation results as well as the restoration measures implemented.

Curatorial team

The exhibition is curated by Babette Hartwieg and Neville Rowley.

Event

On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m., the public event “A History of Forms: Carpaccio, Longhi, Pasolini” will take place at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura (Hildebrandstraße 2, 10785 Berlin). The evening, featuring lectures by Babette Hartwieg and Neville Rowley, as well as the film “Carpaccio” by Roberto Longhi, will explore the close connections between Pasolini’s work and Italian Renaissance art.

Lecture series

Four lectures accompanying the exhibition provide deeper insights into Vittore Carpaccio’s “Preparation of the Tomb of Christ”, both with regard to its mysterious iconography and the results of the technical investigations and restoration measures.

All lectures will take place in the lecture hall of the Kulturforum, Johanna-und-Eduard-Arnhold-Platz / Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin.

Thursday, 22.01.2026, 6 pm
Babette Hartwieg
Carpaccio’s “Preparation of Christ’s Entombment”: Examination and Restoration – Challenges and Approaches

The large-format canvas painting by Vittore Carpaccio has undergone comprehensive examination and restoration in recent years by Babette Hartwieg, the former chief conservator of the Gemäldegalerie. In her lecture, she will discuss the results of her investigations, which focused primarily on changes in the colors. The restoration methods had to be adapted to the painting’s current condition. The individual steps and measures of the restoration process will be illustrated with informative photographs.

Thursday, 19.02.2026, 6 pm
Giulio Busi and Silvana Greco
mysterious inscriptions

In their presentation, Giulio Busi and Silvana Greco (Free University of Berlin) analyze the iconographic and linguistic features of the Berlin painting “The Preparation of Christ’s Entombment” and relate them to Carpaccio’s “Meditation on the Passion” from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Particular attention is paid to the Hebrew inscriptions on Carpaccio’s painting, especially the word “Israel,” whose meaning is re-examined within its historical and religious context. A historical digression on the Jewish community of Venice clarifies its presence and the restrictions it faced from 1382 until the establishment of the ghetto in 1516, connecting this historical crisis to the symbolism of the painting.

Thursday, 19.03.2026, 6 pm
Neville Rowley
Carpaccio and Aby Warburg: A History of Tears

Tears accompany our birth and our childhood. Gradually, we learn to suppress them, but sometimes they return, representing joy or sorrow. Tears have not always been depicted in art. Neville Rowley, curator of early Italian painting at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, embarks on a fascinating search for their visual traces, starting with Vittore Carpaccio’s “The Entombment of Christ.” His “companion” will be the Hamburg art historian Aby Warburg (1866–1929), who was one of the first to intensively study representations of pathos.

Thursday, 2.04.2026, 6 pm
Sabine Engel
Carpaccio’s “Preparation of Christ’s Entombment”: Antiquity and Christianity

Vittore Carpaccio’s enigmatic “Preparation of Christ’s Entombment” remains a fascinating object of research. At the heart of the current debate is the mysterious pair of men on the rock: while one plays the shawm, the other gestures – are these figures to be interpreted solely in a patristic sense, as has been suggested? The lecture by Sabine Engel, a specialist in Venetian Renaissance painting, explores these iconographic details and discusses their complex interweaving within Christian and classical traditions.

WHEN?

Exhibition: Thursday, 20. November 2025 – Monday, 6. April 2026

WHO?

Gemäldegalerie
Johanna-und-Eduard-Arnhold-Platz
Matthäikirchplatz
10785 Berlin