The Lamentation over the Dead Christ (after Poussin)
1998
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1998
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Leon Kossoff’s 1998 print reimagines a classic scene in stark black and white. The work is an etching after Poussin, not a copy but a fresh look. Like his other prints, it grew from constant redrawing and reworking. Printmaking let Kossoff focus on line instead of color. He often worked from Old Masters—here, Poussin’s Lamentation—stripping away hues to study form. His proofs show endless tweaking, even after prints were done. He shared this drive with artists like Auerbach and Freud. See more of Kossoff’s prints at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
