The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

to the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by many different artists. Lamentation works are very often included in cycles of the '' Life of Christ'', and also form the subject of many individual works. One specific type of Lamentation depicts only Jesus' mother Mary cradling his body. These are known as

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific for ...

(Italian for "pity").

Development of the depiction

As the depiction of the

Passion of Christ In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

increased in complexity towards the end of the first millennium, a number of scenes were developed covering the period between the death of Jesus on the Cross and his being placed in his tomb. The accounts in the

Canonical Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

s concentrate on the roles of

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several ...

and Nicodemus, but specifically mention Mary and

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

as present. Scenes showing Joseph negotiating with

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

for permission to take Christ's body are rare in art. Ugolino Lorenzetti 001

The

Deposition of Christ The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...

, where the body is being taken down from the cross, shown almost always in a vertical or diagonal position still off the ground, was the first scene to be developed, appearing first in late 9th century

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted u ...

, and soon after in

Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

miniatures. The ''Bearing of the Body'', showing Jesus' body being carried by Joseph, Nicodemus and sometimes others, initially was the image covering the whole period between Deposition and Entombment, and remained usual in the Byzantine world. The laying-out of Jesus' body on a slab or

bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, ...

, in Greek the ''Epitaphios'', became an important subject in Byzantine art, with special types of cloth

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

, the Epitaphios and the Antimension; Western equivalents in painting are called the ''Anointing of Christ''. The Entombment of Christ, showing the lowering of Christ's body into the tomb, was a Western innovation of the late 10th century; tombs cut horizontally into a rock face being unfamiliar in Western Europe, usually a stone

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...

or a tomb cut down into a flat rock surface is shown. From these different images another type, the ''Lamentation'' itself, arose from the 11th century, always giving a more prominent position to Mary, who either holds the body, and later has it across her lap, or sometimes falls back in a state of collapse as Joseph and others hold the body. In a very early Byzantine depiction of the 11th century, a scene of this type is placed just outside the mouth of the tomb, but around the same time other images place the scene at the foot of the empty cross - in effect relocating it in both time (to before the bearing, laying-out and anointing of the body) as well as space. This became the standard scene in Western

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

, and even when the cross is subsequently seen less often, the landscape background is usually retained. In

Early Netherlandish painting Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. It flourished especia ...

of the 15th century the three crosses often appear in the background of the painting, a short distance from the scene. Gerard David - Lamentation - Google Art Project

Gerard David - Lamentation - Google Art Project

Lamentations did not appear in art north of the Alps until the 14th century, but then became very popular there, and Northern versions further developed the centrality of Mary to the composition. The typical position of Christ's body changes from being flat on the ground or slab, usually seen in profile across the centre of the work, to the upper torso being raised by Mary or others, and finally being held in a near-vertical position, seen frontally, or across Mary's lap. Mary Magdalene typically holds Jesus' feet, and Joseph is usually a bearded older man, often richly dressed. In fully populated ''Lamentations'' the figures shown with the body include The Three Marys,

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebede ...

, Joseph and Nicodemus, and often others of both sexes, not to mention angels and

donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...

s. Giotto di Bondone's famous depiction in the

Scrovegni Chapel The Scrovegni Chapel ( it, Cappella degli Scrovegni ), also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the ''Monastero degli Eremitani'' in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monastery a ...

includes ten further female figures, who are not intended to be individualized as they have no halos. The subject became increasingly a separate devotional image, concentrating on Mary's grief for her son, with less narrative emphasis; the logical outcome of this trend was the

, showing just these two figures, which was especially suitable for sculpture. The Deposition of Christ and the Lamentation or Pietà form the 13th of the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

, one of Seven Sorrows of the Virgin, and a common component of cycles of the

Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the ...

, all of which increased the frequency with which the scene was depicted, as series of works based on these devotional themes became popular. It is not always possible to say clearly whether a particular image should be regarded as a Lamentation or one of the other related subjects discussed above, and museums and art historians are not always consistent in their naming. The famous Mantegna painting, clearly motivated by an interest in foreshortening, is essentially an Anointing, and many scenes, especially Italian

Trecento The Trecento (, also , ; short for , "1300") refers to the 14th century in Italian cultural history. Period Art Commonly, the Trecento is considered to be the beginning of the Renaissance in art history. Painters of the Trecento included Giot ...

ones and those after 1500, share characteristics of the Lamentation and the Entombment.

Ambrosius Benson Ambrosius Benson (, in Ferrara or Milan1550, in Flanders) was an Italian painter who became a part of the Northern Renaissance. While many surviving paintings have been attributed, there is very little known of him from records, and he tended no ...

's 16th century Lamentation

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

was stolen from the Nájera (

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

) in 1913. It was later resold several times. The last time was a

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction in 2008, where it was purchased by an anonymous buyer for 1.46 million euros.Lamentation of Christ Triptych Sold for 1.46 Million Euros
/ref>

Gallery

Image:Meister von Nerezi 001.jpg, Lamentation of Christ found in the Church of St. Panteleimon (Nerezi) in Macedonia. The fresco dates back to the 12th century. Image:Mantegna Andrea Dead Christ.jpg, ''Lamentation'' by Andrea Mantegna. See above. Image:The_Burial_Lamentations_by_Theophanes_the_Cretan.jpg, A post-Byzantine (

Cretan school Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becomi ...

) Epitaphios with influence from Western Lamentations, by Theophanes of Crete. 1st half of 16th century. Image:Lamentation_of_the_Virgin_Rohan.jpg, An individual Lamentation from the

Rohan Hours The Grandes Heures de Rohan (French: ''The Grand Hours of Rohan''; Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS. Latin 9471; commonly known as The Rohan Hours) is an illuminated manuscript book of hours, painted by the anonymous artist known as the Rohan M ...

. The grieving Virgin cannot be consoled by the

Apostle John John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee ...

, who looks up in consternation at a saddened God. Image:Simon Marmion - The Lamentation.jpg, ''Lamentation'' by

Simon Marmion Simon Marmion (c. 1425 – 24 or 25 December 1489) was a French and Burgundian Early Netherlandish painter of panels and illuminated manuscripts. Marmion lived and worked in what is now France but for most of his lifetime was part of the Duchy ...

, with the three crosses high on the hill behind. Image:Albrecht Duerer- Lamentation for Christ.JPG, ''Lamentation of Christ'', c. 1500,

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

, set at the foot of the cross. Image:Dead_Christ_Supported_by_Two_Angels_c._1472.jpg, ''Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels'', c. 1472,

Carlo Crivelli Carlo Crivelli ( Venice, c. 1430 – Ascoli Piceno, c. 1495) was an Italian Renaissance painter of conservative Late Gothic decorative sensibility, who spent his early years in the Veneto, where he absorbed influences from the Vivar ...

, (

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...

) Image:Dosso Dossi - Lamentation over the Body of Christ.jpg, ''Lamentation'' by

Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542), was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and earl ...

Accademia - Compianto sul Cristo morto con Giuseppe d'Arimatea, la Vergine e la Maddalena, tra s. Marta e Filippo Benizi di Giovanni Bellini.jpg, ''Lamentation'' by

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his fath ...

Image:Peter_Paul_Rubens_155.jpg, ''Lamentation of Christ by Mary and John'' by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...

Image:Petrus Christus 001.jpg, '' Lamentation (Pietà)'', attributed to Petrus Christus Image:Andrea Andreani - The Lamentation Over the Body of Christ.jpg, Lamentation or Entombment? Chiaroscuro woodcut by

Andrea Andreani Andrea Andreani (1540–1623) was an Italian engraver on wood, who was among the first printmakers in Italy to use chiaroscuro, which required multiple colours. Andreani was born and generally active in Mantua about 1540 ( Brulliot says 1560) ...

. File:Bela Čikoš Sesija - Mourning of Christ.jpg, A modern Lamentation, in

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

style by

Bela Čikoš Sesija Bela Čikoš Sesija (born Adalbert Csikos Sessia; 27 January 1864 in Osijek – 11 February 1931 in Zagreb) was a Croatian Symbolist painter, art teacher and one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Biography Čikoš Se ...

File:O Epitaphios Threnos (The Lamentation at the Tomb) - Toronto.jpg, A modern Orthodox icon of the 'Epitaphios Threnos' (Lamentation at the Tomb).

Works with articles

Maarten van Heemskerck Maarten van Heemskerck or ''Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen'' (1 June 1498 - 1 October 1574) was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan van Scorel, and adopted his teacher's Itali ...

, c. 1540

Notes

References

* G. Schiller, ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II'', 1972 (English trans. from German), Lund Humphries, London, pp. 164–181, figs 540-639,

External links