A miniature is an art form which represents a scene in a very small space
sometimes as small as a square inch. The decorator of the Gospel Book of
Nonantola framed the figures of Mary, Jesus Nicodemus. John and Joseph of Arimathaea in a small square, with Nicodemus and the Cross in the central position. Mary and the Son are portrayed on the left, and on the right we see the beloved apostle and the man who provided the sepulcher for Jesus' body. The two couples are characterized by horizontal and vertical lines, they seem to repeat the pattern of the beams of the Cross, which becomes the main element of the picture.
The simple draping, the choice of the colors, the essentiality of the character's feelings (see the disconsolate pose of John, who holds his head with his right hand) give the picture a calm sense of tragedy.

O Lord Jesus, descended from the Cross, you were given back to the Mother who so often held you in her arms.