The Dead Christ is viewed in steep foreshortening, foot to head, laid out on a slab of marble with, crowded into the narrow space at the left, the mourning figures of his mother, Saint John (the beloved apostle), and a third figure, and, to the right, a view toward the back of a barren room -probably the tomb chamber- and the dark opening of a door.
The Christ’s feet, with their lovingly described nail wounds, project beyond the marble slab into the viewer's space; the hands, also marked by the nails that pierced them on the cross, gently posed on the folds of the linen sheet that covers the lower half of the corpse; the head, turned slightly to the side, hauntingly peaceful in the way it is propped against a rose-colored silk pillow with an elegant watermarked decoration.

Then, we see the audacious cropping of Saint John's head, turned inward toward Jesus, with the partial view of his tightly clasped hands; the grief- stricken face of the Virgin, who raises a cloth to wipe away the tears that course down her aged cheeks; and the open mouth of the third figure, forming an almost audible moan. All this cannot help but move the susceptible viewer, who finds himself at Christ's feet - in the position of Mary Magdalene, who washed those same feet with her tears.

The picture is a tour de force of artistic ingenuity and accomplishment, and it is no wonder that it has had such a lasting effect on so many later artists. But what sets Mantegna's painting apart is the way we see, at the far edge of the marble slab on the right, a beautifully depicted ointment jar (for the preparation of Christ's body) poignantly silhouetted against the empty corner of the chamber with that bleak, dark opening. Emptiness and silence are broken only by the sobbing of the claustrophobically grouped mourning figures.

No Renaissance artist other than Mantegna has ever treated the theme of the Dead Christ mourned by his followers with an equal sense of loss as they confront the frightening silence and emptiness of death.Certainly not Bellini, whose emotional world did not admit such dark, brooding feelings. Nor Piero Della Francesca, whose most memorable painting conveys the certainty of the Resurrection. Nor even Michelangelo, whose marvelous drawing of the Pietà in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, with its inscription from Dante "They think not how much blood it has cost" is too heroically and eloquently tragic to have this kind of shattering impact.

The theme of the Lamentation is common in medieval and Renaissance art, although this treatment, dating back to a subject known as the Anointing of Christ is unusual for the period. Most Lamentations show much more contact between the mourners and the body. Rich contrasts of light and shadow abound, infused by a profound sense of pathos. The realism and tragedy of the scene are enhanced by the violent perspective, which foreshortens and dramatizes the recumbent figure, stressing  its anatomical details. In particular, Christ's chest.

The stigmata in Christ's hands and feet, as well as the faces of the two mourners, are portrayed without any concession to idealism or rhetoric. The sharply drawn drapery that covers the corpse contributes to the overall dramatic effect. Unique to this painting is a design that places the central focus of the image on Christ's genitals - an artistic choice that is open to a multitude of interpretations. Mantegna managed to paint a very specific representation of physical and emotional trauma. In a masterful synthesis between technical ability and depth of the content of the painting, Mantegna presented both a harrowing study of a strongly foreshortened cadaver and an intensely poignant depiction of evangelical tragedy. On the one hand, this painting is one of many examples of the artist's mastery of perspective: at first glance, the painting seems to be a strikingly realistic study in foreshortening. However, careful scrutiny reveals that Mantegna reduced the size of the figure's feet, which, as he must have known, would cover much of the body if properly represented. Through this stylistic expedient, the viewer’s attention is drawn over the actual figure represented: not any cadaver, but the cadaver of Christ, and the drama surrounding it.

It is typical of Mantegna's art that the simple window-like framing of the confined space in this painting architecturally defines it as the cold and dismal cell of a morgue. Looking at the painting we see an almost monstrous spectacle: a heavy corpse, seemingly swollen by the exaggerated foreshortening. At the front are two oversized feet with stigmata; on the left, some tear-stained, staring masks. But another look dissipates the initial shock, and a rational system can be discerned under the subdued light. The face of Christ, like the other faces, is seamed by wrinkles, which harmonize with the watery satin of the pinkish pillow, the pale granulations of the marble slab and the veined onyx of the ointment jar. The damp folds of the shroud emphasize the folds in the tight skin, which is like torn parchment around the dry wounds. All these lines are echoed in the wild waves of the hair.

Mantegna's realism prevails over any esthetic indulgence that might result from an over-refined lingering over the material aspects of his subject. His realism is in turn dominated by an exalted poetic feeling for suffering and Christian resignation. Mantegna's creative power lies in his own interpretation of the "historic," his feeling for spectacle on a small as well as a large scale. Beyond his apparent coldness and studied detachment, Mantegna's feelings are those of a historian, and like all great historians he is full of humanity. He has a tragic sense of the history and destiny of man, and of the problems of good and evil, life and death.
The position of the left hand of Christ is also rather peculiar. The hand index finger and pinkie looking tense, and the remaining fingers bent toward the inside of the palm can be interpreted as a mocking, insulting, or superstitious gesture. *

Unjustly one could believe that this gesture is blasphemous, the true ancient and universal significance of this gesture is actually protection. Since ancient times many were the remedies of protection adopted by the popular tradition and in medieval times. The most popular were wear necklaces of garlic’s cloves, sea shells, or bits of agate; setting behind the door horseshoes, big rooster’ s nails or wolf tails will prevent evil to enter and good fortune for the house.

Among the religious protections that protected from evil there were the sign of the cross, holy water, rosaries and medals blessed. The most powerful signs against the evil eye was “fare le corna” with your hands, or take small "horned hand" as pendants. Fare le corna shows the hand with the index and little fingers tense and the rest of the fingers bent toward the inside of the palm. This is a typically Latin gesture characteristic of Italy, Spain, Portugal and southern France. (Gherardi, 2009)