Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and the Virgin Mary place Christ in the tomb offered by the first. They are watched by Mary Magdalene and Saint John the Evangelist, which is a slight variation on the New Testament story (Matthew 28, 57-61; Mark 15, 42-47; Luke 23, 50-55; John 19, 38-42).

Another work on the same subject (P00441) in the Prado was given by the Senate of Venice to Antonio Pérez, Secretary to the King, in 1572.

The differences in quality between the two versions, which is the result of a different degree of direct participation by the artist, can be seen in the figure of Christ, in the scorzo of the Virgin, and in the greater detail visible in the earlier work.

This work was commissioned by Felipe II (1556-1598) in July 1559 and was installed in the Old Church of the Monastery of El Escorial that same year. From there, it entered the Prado Museum Collection in 1837.