An ingenious tapestry and stained-glass designer, Pieter Coecke van Aelst was also an enterprising painter who managed one of the largest workshops in Antwerp. These paintings once formed the wings of a triptych (three-panel altarpiece). The Jewish elder Joseph of Arimathea appeared on one side of the central image, which showed Christ taken down from the cross. The disciple, who obtained permission to bury Christ, seems to witness the event, brow furrowed sorrowfully as he holds the crown of thorns. Mary Magdalene, present at the burial to anoint Christ’s body, proffers an ointment jar as tears streak her cheeks.