Artwork
The Lamentation of Christ
The Lamentation of Christ is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Simon Marmion. It dates from 1467 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The subject matter focuses entirely on the emotional aftermath of the sacrifice, portraying the sorrow of the followers as they attend to the lifeless body.
The work depicts the Lamentation of Christ, a religious scene centered on the mourning of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion. The composition features the dead body of Christ surrounded by grieving figures, including the Virgin Mary and other women and men, as identified in the visual record. As a piece of religious art created by Simon Marmion in 1467, the painting serves as a devotional object intended to evoke empathy and spiritual reflection on the Passion.
The subject matter focuses entirely on the emotional aftermath of the sacrifice, portraying the sorrow of the followers as they attend to the lifeless body. This iconography aligns with traditional Northern Renaissance representations of the event, emphasizing human grief and the sanctity of the moment.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a typical support for Netherlandish panel paintings of the mid‑fifteenth century. Measuring 51.8 cm high by 32.7 cm wide, it belongs to the Robert Lehman collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a religious painting, it portrays the Lamentation of Christ, showing the dead Christ surrounded by the Virgin Mary and other mourners.
The oil medium allows for smooth application and subtle tonal transitions, while the panel provides a rigid, stable surface.
History & Provenance
Created in 1467, The Lamentation of Christ is an oil painting on panel executed by the artist Simon Marmion. The work measures 51.8 by 32.7 centimeters and depicts the religious subject of the Lamentation, featuring figures of Christ, Mary, and other mourners. Regarding its ownership history, the painting was once held in the collection of Robert Lehman.
It currently resides within the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified as a religious genre painting. No specific details regarding the original commission or the intermediate steps of its provenance chain between Marmion's studio and Lehman are provided in the available records.
The Lamentation of Christ by Simon Marmion is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It entered the museum as part of the Robert Lehman Collection, and no separate accession number is recorded in the available documentation. The work is listed in the museum’s catalogue under the collection designation “Robert Lehman” and is displayed in the European Paintings wing.
Exhibition records provided in the source material do not mention any specific past exhibitions dedicated to this painting, indicating that it has not been featured in major temporary shows highlighted in the referenced references.
Overview
This oil painting, titled The Lamentation of Christ, depicts a solemn gathering around the deceased figure of Christ. The composition centers on the pale, lifeless body, surrounded by mourners engaged in prayer and tender gestures. The artist employs a vibrant palette for the drapery of the living figures, contrasting with the stark pallor of the central subject, conveying a mood of profound sadness tempered by a sense of quiet reverence.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Simon Marmion (c. 1425 – 24 or 25 December 1489) was a French and Burgundian Early Netherlandish painter of panels and illuminated manuscripts. Marmion lived and worked in what is now France but for most of his lifetime…
