Annibale Carracci - Lamentation of Christ - WGA4436

''The Dead Christ Mourned'' (also known as ''Lamentation of Christ'', ''Pietà with the Three Marys'', or ''The Three Marys'') is an oil painting on canvas of by

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

. It was in the Orleans Collection before arriving in Great Britain in 1798. In 1913 it was donated to the National Gallery, London, which describes it as "perhaps the most poignant image in tscollection of the pietà – the lamentation over the dead Christ following his crucifixion – and one of the greatest expressions of grief in

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 t ...

art". The painting shows the dead body of Christ laid out in a white loincloth, with his legs on a white shroud and his head resting in the lap of his mother, the Virgin Mary, in her characteristic blue robe; overcome with emotion, she has fainted. The mother and son are accompanied by three other figures.

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 crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, with red hair, is kneeling to the right, wearing a red robe and elaborately embroidered yellow cloak, with her hands raised in anguish. They are accompanied by an older woman, standing in a dark green robe to the rear, reaching out towards a younger woman in green, blue and red who is kneeling behind the Virgin Mary to support her. Behind the group is the dark entrance to Christ's tomb, and some trees. The three background figures have slim gold haloes, but Christ and the Virgin do not. Carracci (1560–1609) painted many scenes of the pietà in his artistic career from around 1580 to around 1605. This version, dated to , is thought to be one of the latest. In it Carracci has combined elements of three gospel accounts in one scene: the lamentation over the dead Christ, his entombment, and the discovery of the empty tomb by the Three Marys. The two other women accompanying Christ, the Virgin and the Magdalene cannot easily be identified, but they may be

Mary Cleophas According to the Gospel of John, Mary of Clopas ( grc, Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ, ''María hē tou Clōpá'') was one of the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus and bringing supplies for his funeral. The expression ''Mary of Clop ...

and Mary Salome, who are included in some gospel accounts among the

women at the crucifixion The presence of a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion of Jesus is found in all four Gospels of the New Testament. There have been different interpretations how many and which women were present. Although some Christian traditions h ...

, and who were also present at the empty tomb with the Virgin Mary. The composition uses strong diagonals to guide the viewer around the emotional scene, from the triple diagonal of Christ's bare body, through his mother in cool blues to the warmer tones of the young woman supporting her. The pallor and posture of the unconscious Virgin, her head thrown back with right arm extended, echo those of her son. Behind her, the young woman is looking across at the older woman, who looks back with arms outstretched, forming a second diagonal with the brightly clothed Mary Magdalene, whose gaze is also directed back towards the dead body of Christ. The painting is heavily influenced by Correggio's '' Lamentation'' () in Parma, which has a similar triple of Christ's body resting on the lap of the Virgin who is supported by a female figure, with the Magdalene and another woman accompanying them. It may also be influenced by the ''Lamentation over the Dead Christ'' by Luca Signorelli (), formerly in Siena but now in Glasgow. The

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

holds a preparatory chalk drawing by Carracci of the dead Christ. Although now one of the best-known works by

, the painting is not mentioned in any contemporary or early sources. The earliest reference to it, dating to 1684, places it in the collection of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay, in France. Seignelay owned a notable collection of paintings, including other works by Carracci. It is not known whether he acquired this work during his grand tour of Italy or from a French art dealer who had acquired it there. The work then entered the Orleans Collection and along with much of that collection was acquired by British collectors after the French Revolution. It was presented to the National Gallery in 1913 by

Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle Rosalind Frances Howard, Countess of Carlisle (née Stanley; 20 February 1845 – 12 August 1921), known as ''The Radical Countess'', was a promoter of women's political rights and temperance movement activist. Family The Countess of Carlisle ...

.Carel van Tuyll van Serooskerken, 'Pietà', in ''Annibale Carracci, Catalogo della mostra Bologna e Roma 2006–2007'', Milano, 2006, pp. 422–423. File:Luca Signorelli Glasgow Museum.png, Luca Signorelli, ''Lamentation over the Dead Christ'', 1488–1490, Pollok House File:Correggio deposition.jpg, Correggio, '' Lamentation'', , Galleria nazionale di Parma File:Studio di Cristo in Pietà - Annibale Carracci.jpg, Chalk study, , Rijksmuseum

References

category:Paintings by Annibale Carracci category:1604 paintings category:Collections of the National Gallery, London Carracci category:Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene Carracci {{17C-painting-stub

See also

References