Chapel of the Anointing - Bom Jesus - Braga

The Chapel of the Anointing of the Body of the Lord ( or Tears ) is a building from the time of D. Rodrigo de Moura Teles, in hexagonal shape, with on the outside the inscription <<POSUERUNT EUM IN MONUMENTO», translated as: <laid in the tomb» .

The inviolable body, lying on a sheet, is anointed and wrapped in cloths before being placed in the tomb. The disciples Jose of Arimateia and Nicodemus hold him with their hands, head and feet.

The Most Holy Mary contemplates her Divine Son, deeply embittered, with on the right the pious women, Mary Cleophas and Veronica, and on the left Mary Salome, Madalena, kneeling and weeping. Tears streamed down his pale, withered face.

Behind the Blessed Virgin Mary are depicted S. João Evangelist and four other men, in very expressive poses of pain and torment.

In the foreground, on the left, the Roman centurion with helmet and spear in hand.

Willem Vandenameele