The Entombment with a female figure kissing the hand of Christ, 1855,0214.1

This preparatory pen-and-ink drawing captures the limp weight of Christ's body as it is transported by two straining figures. Mary Magdalene is shown in a deep crouch, kissing the hand of the deceased, while a group of women including the Virgin Mary support each other in grief on the right. The sketch reveals Raphael's focus on the emotional choreography and anatomical realism that defined the High Renaissance.

As a study for the 'Borghese Entombment,' this work exemplifies the Renaissance synthesis of classical form with Christian narrative, reflecting the era's focus on expressing spiritual depth through perfected human anatomy. Raphael's approach was deeply informed by the intellectual and Neoplatonic environment of 16th-century Italy, where the beauty of the human form was seen as a reflection of the divine.