Netherlandish School, circa 1520
The Lamentation
Oil on panel
123 x 86 cm
Private collection
This work depicts several scenes taking place simultaneously: In the background we see Christ's deposition from the cross on Mount Calvary whilst His body is anointed in the foreground. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea hold Christ's body whilst Mary Magdalene kneels ready with the ointment jar at his feet. The Virgin is shown in the centre of the work supported by Saint John. The grave is prepared on the right edge of the image and in the background we see the silhouette of the city of Jerusalem. More on this work
Nicodemus, according to the New Testament, was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John. He is identified as a Pharisee who comes to see Jesus "at night". John places this meeting shortly after the Cleansing of the Temple and links it to the signs which Jesus performed in Jerusalem during the Passover feast. More on Nicodemus
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical
Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus
after Jesus' crucifixion. A number of stories that developed during the Middle
Ages connect him with both Glastonbury, where he is supposed to have founded
the earliest Christian oratory, and also with the Grail legend. More on Joseph of Arimathea
Mary Magdalene, literally translated as
Mary the Magdalene or Mary of Magdala, is a figure in Christianity who,
according to the Bible, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers. She is
said to have witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Within the four
Gospels she is named more than most of the apostles. Based on texts of the
early Christian era in the third century, it seems that her status as an
“apostle" rivals even Peter's.
The Gospel
of Luke says seven demons had gone out of her. She is most prominent in the
narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus, at which she was present. She was also
present two days later when, she was, either alone or as a member of a group of
women, the first to testify to the resurrection of Jesus. John 20 and Mark 16:9
specifically name her as the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection.
During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was regarded in
Western Christianity as a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman, claims not
found in any of the four canonical gospels. More Mary Magdalene
Mary, mother of Jesus, was a 1st-century BC Galilean woman of Nazareth, and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran.
The Descent from the Cross, 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 his crucifixion. In Byzantine
art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the 10th
century. The Descent from the Cross is the 13th Station of the Cross.
Other figures not mentioned in the Gospels who
are often included in depictions of this subject include St. John the
Evangelist, who is sometimes depicted supporting a fainting Mary, and Mary
Magdalene. The Gospels mention an undefined number of women as watching the
crucifixion, including the Three Marys and Mary Salome.. More on Deposition of Christ
The Lamentation of Christ is a very common
subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. 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 (Italian for "pity") More
The Lamentation of Christ
Early Netherlandish painting is the work of
artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and
16th-century Northern Renaissance; especially in the flourishing cities of
Bruges, Ghent, Mechelen, Louvain, Tournai and Brussels, all in contemporary
Belgium. Their work follows the
International Gothic style and begins approximately with Robert Campin and Jan
van Eyck in the early 1420s. It lasts at least until the death of Gerard David
in 1523, although many scholars extend it to the start of the Dutch Revolt in
1566 or 1568 Early Netherlandish painting coincides with the Early and High
Italian Renaissance but is seen as an independent artistic culture, separate
from the Renaissance humanism that characterised developments in Italy. Because
these painters represent the culmination of the northern European medieval
artistic heritage and the incorporation of Renaissance ideals, they are
sometimes categorised as belonging to both the Early Renaissance and Late
Gothic. More on the Netherlandish School
Please visit my other blogs: Art
Collector, Mythology, Marine
Art, Portrait of a Lady, The
Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit
my Boards on Pinterest
Images are copyright of their respective owners,
assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright
I don't own any of these images - credit is always
given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your
permission, please tell me.
I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or
reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.
If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends
and family.
Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking
its posts and pages.
Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.
