Alexey Glebovich Smirnov's "Entombment" (1961) is a profound linoleum block print that explores the moment of Christ's burial through a distinctly modernist interpretation of Orthodox iconography. Created as a companion piece to his "Resurrection" of the same year, this work demonstrates Smirnov's continued engagement with sacred themes during a period when religious art was officially discouraged in the Soviet Union. The piece captures the sombre moment of Christ's placement in the tomb, rendered with a psychological intensity that speaks to both personal and universal loss.

The composition is structured around three elongated figures whose bodies curve and lean inward, creating a protective arc around Christ's fragile skeletal body as it is gently lowered into the sarcophagus. This arrangement creates a powerful sense of intimate grief, with the figures' poses portraying both physical effort and emotional burden. The stark geometrical form of the tomb anchors the bottom of the composition, while the flowing, organic lines of the figures above create a dynamic tension between the earthly and the divine, between the finality of death and the promise of resurrection.

Smirnov's mastery of the linoleum block medium is evident in the copper-toned surface, where bold, decisive cuts create dramatic contrasts between light and shadow. The artist's distinctive style, characterised by elongated figures with Byzantine-influenced faces and simplified geometric forms, achieves a powerful synthesis of traditional Orthodox iconography and modernist abstraction. The deep, carved lines and varying textures of the surface create a rich interplay of positive and negative space, enhancing the work's emotional resonance while maintaining its formal sophistication.

Alexey Glebovich Smirnov (1937-2009), also known as von Rauch, was a third-generation hereditary artist who studied at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute. This piece, created during a pivotal period in his career, exemplifies his ability to navigate between sacred traditions and contemporary artistic expression. The work's profound exploration of death and mourning, rendered through a modernist vocabulary while maintaining deep spiritual significance, demonstrates Smirnov's unique position within Soviet art history as an artist who successfully bridged religious content with avant-garde form during a period of official atheism.