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The Angel and the Two Women at the Tomb

The women appear to be carrying something, almost certainly the spices required to prepare Jesus's body. One of them raises her veiled arm in what many be a gesture of prayer or supplication.

The tempietto over the women has a triangular pediment, whereas the one over the angel is arched: I like to relate this to the later artistic convention in which the living are represented with square halos but the saints' halos are round. Nothing, however, could be less certain.

Compare this scene with the second panel of the third row, where the two women meet Christ himself.

2nd panel of the 1st row,
5th‑century Roman door,
church of S. Sabina, Rome.
Click on the medium-dark areas to navigate to any adjacent panel.

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