De Montmorency's coat of arms features on the pillow under Christ and it was originally at the doorway to the chapel in his Château d'Écouen, from which it was moved to the Louvre at the end of the 18th century.

He is echoed by Mary who, desperate, spreads her arms reaching to touch the edges of the painting and symbolically reliving the martyrdom of the crucifixion.

It is held by a pious woman with her head covered by a heavy veil of bright red color, while Jesus is held at the feet by the Magdalene, with very refined clothing and hairstyle, and by John the Apostle, represented kneeling from behind on the right in a complex twist, complementary to that of the Magdalene.

The figures occupy practically the entire available field, leaving little space for the dark background that simulates the open sepulcher.

They have a heroic and dramatic tone, highlighted by the gestures, but austerely restrained, which Antonio Natali defined as "a chorus of Greek tragedy".