The Entombment of Christ (1602–1603) is a painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. It was painted for Santa Maria in Vallicella

Santa Maria in Vallicella

Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele...

, a church built for the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri

Oratory of Saint Philip Neri

The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a congregation of Catholic priests and lay-brothers who live together in a community bound together by no formal vows but only with the bond of charity. They are commonly referred to as Oratorians...

, and adjacent to the buildings of the order. A copy of the painting is now in the chapel.

The painting was originally commissioned by Alessandro Vittrice

Alessandro Vittrice

Alessandro Vittrice commissioned Caravaggio in 1601 to paint The Entombment of Christ as an altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella....

 in 1601, and completed by two years later. Now it is among the treasures of the Vatican Pinacoteca.

While there is much in this representation that was revolutionary for Caravaggio's time, it is not clear that the highly naturalistic reconstruction of a gospel event in this painting would have been antithetical to the vividly faithful Oratorians, who sought to relive experiences through prayer.