Artwork
Lamentation
Lamentation is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Palma il Giovane. It dates from 1620 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created by Jacopo Palma il Giovane in 1620, the work belongs to the genre of religious art and focuses on the moment of mourning over the dead Christ.
The painting depicts the Lamentation of Christ, a religious scene centered on the body of Jesus following the Crucifixion. Created by Jacopo Palma il Giovane in 1620, the work belongs to the genre of religious art and focuses on the moment of mourning over the dead Christ. Its iconography represents the grief of Christ's followers gathered around his lifeless form, serving as a visual meditation on the Passion narrative in keeping with traditional Christian depictions of the Lamentation.
Technique & Style
Executed around 1620 by Jacopo Palma il Giovane, this religious painting is in oil on a canvas support and measures 134.6 cm in height by 109.2 cm in width. The medium and materials align with standard practice for devotional works of the period. The composition concentrates on the theological narrative of the Lamentation, following the genre conventions of early seventeenth-century Venetian religious art.
History & Provenance
Jacopo Palma il Giovane's Lamentation, an oil-on-canvas painting dated to circa 1620, is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It entered the museum's holdings in 1991 as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Manning of New York, having remained in private hands until then. The available records do not specify an accession number or an exhibition history for the work.
Overview
This oil on canvas painting, titled Lamentation, depicts a solemn moment following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The work captures a scene of profound grief, where various figures are gathered around the deceased Christ. As a painting, it engages with a long-standing tradition of religious art, presenting a narrative central to Christian belief through its visual composition and emotional resonance.
Context
The theme of the Lamentation, or the mourning over the dead Christ, has been a recurring motif in Western art since the Middle Ages. Artists frequently explored this subject to evoke piety and contemplation among viewers. This work stands within that rich artistic tradition, inviting comparison with other interpretations.
For instance, artists like Jacopo Palma il Giovane also explored similar devotional scenes, contributing to a broader visual dialogue surrounding this significant biblical event.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ('Young Palma'), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school.
