Joseph of Arymathea is already climbing down the ladder with a hammer. The Virgin is holding Christ's body in her lap in the pose of the Pietà. The red-robed John is kneeling at his head, Magdalene at his feet. Christ's loin-cloth is flying on one side of the the cross, with the ropes hanging on the other. They are surrounded by strikingly lonely pinetrees, standing in the empty, rocky country.