TheLamentation of Christ[1] is a very common subject in Christian art from theHigh Middle Ages to theBaroque.[2] AfterJesus was crucified, hisbody 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 theLife of Christ, and also form the subject of many individual works. One specific type of Lamentation depicts onlyJesus' mother Mary cradling his body. These are known asPietà (Italian for "pity").[3]
As the depiction of thePassion of Christ 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 theCanonical Gospels concentrate on the roles ofJoseph of Arimathea andNicodemus, but specifically mentionMary andMary Magdalene as present. Scenes showing Joseph negotiating withPontius Pilate for permission to take Christ's body are rare in art.[4]
TheDeposition of Christ, 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 centuryByzantine art, and soon after inOttonian miniatures.[5] TheBearing 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 orbier, in Greek theEpitaphios, became an important subject in Byzantine art, with special types of clothicon, theEpitaphios and theAntimension; Western equivalents in painting are called theAnointing of Christ.[6] TheEntombment 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 stonesarcophagus or a tomb cut down into a flat rock surface is shown.
From these different images another type, theLamentation 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,[7] 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 WesternGothic art, and even when the cross is subsequently seen less often, the landscape background is usually retained. InEarly Netherlandish painting of the 15th century the three crosses often appear in the background of the painting, a short distance from the scene.
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.[8] 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 populatedLamentations the figures shown with the body includeThe Three Marys,John the Apostle, Joseph and Nicodemus, and often others of both sexes, not to mention angels anddonor portraits.[9]
Giotto di Bondone's famous depiction in theScrovegni Chapel includes ten further female figures, who are not intended to be individualized as they have nohalos. 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 thePietà, showing just these two figures, which was especially suitable for sculpture.
The Deposition of Christ and the Lamentation or Pietà form the 13th of theStations of the Cross, one ofSeven Sorrows of the Virgin, and a common component of cycles of theLife of the Virgin, 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 inforeshortening, is essentially an Anointing, and many scenes, especially ItalianTrecento ones and those after 1500, share characteristics of the Lamentation and the Entombment.[10]
Ambrosius Benson's 16th century Lamentationtriptychwas stolen from theNájera (La Rioja) in 1913. It was later resold several times. The last time was aSotheby's auction in 2008, where it was purchased by an anonymous buyer for 1.46 million euros.[11]
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