Ethiopian Lithograph

Ladders lean against a cross while a crowd of figures gathers its burden.

This lithograph from Ethiopia depicting the deposition from the cross is from Ethiopia, East Africa, and is contemporary. It is ink on paper. Scenes from the Passion of Christ are a long-standing subject in Ethiopian church painting, where figures are usually shown with large eyes and clear, bold outlines. Painted panel, small, with a dark cross at the top and two ladders leaning at its base. Haloed figures cluster around a limp central form in blue and flesh tones. Two tan arched shapes sit against a deep blue ground. It is 8.5 inches wide and 11 high.

Crowded, tender, and drawn with a very steady hand.