User:Maudeyoda/Lamentation of Christ (Mantegna)
| The Lamentation over the Dead Christ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Andrea Mantegna |
| Year | c. 1480 |
| Medium | Tempera on canvas |
| Dimensions | 68 cm × 81 cm (27 in × 32 in) |
| Location | Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan |
The Lamentation of Christ (also known as the Lamentation over the Dead Christ, The Foreshortened Christ, or the Dead Christ and Three Mourners and other variants) is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna. It portrays the body of Christ supine on a marble slab. He is watched over by the Virgin Mary, Saint John and St. Mary Magdalene weeping for his death. While the dating of the piece is debated, it was completed between 1475 and 1501, probably in the early 1480s. The painting is currently at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.[1]
Subject
[edit]The Lamentation of Christ is a topic in Christian religious art, especially popular in the High Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods, which depicts the moment of mourning following the Crucifixion and lowering of Christ's body from the cross. Mantegna's variant includes some aspects commonly associated with the scene, including the presence of Mary and John as mourners and the presentation of the body on the Stone of Unction. The painting shows the nail wounds in Christ's feet and hands and, though less pronounced, the spear wound on his side.
Visual Impact
[edit]Mantegna's painting is visually distinct and shocking. Herbert von Einem calls it 'almost spooky' in its depiction of 'a horrendously distorted corpse' confined in a narrow space.[2] There is little contact between the mourners and the body. Rich contrasts of light and shadow abound, infused by a profound sense of pathos. The realism and tragedy of the scene are enhanced by the perspective, which foreshortens and dramatizes the recumbent figure, stressing the anatomical details: in particular, Christ's thorax. The holes in Christ's hands and feet, as well as the faces of the two mourners, are portrayed without any concession to idealism or rhetoric. The sharply drawn drapery which covers the corpse contributes to the dramatic effect. The composition places the central focus of the image on Christ's genitals – an emphasis often found in figures of Jesus, especially as an infant, in this period, which has been related to a theological emphasis on the Humanity of Jesus by Leo Steinberg and others. The space the figures are present in appears to be confined, small, and somber, indicating it to be a morgue.[3]
Use of Perspective
[edit]One of the piece's most distinctive features is the severe angle of the composition, which, when displayed at eye level, places the theoretical viewer at the feet of the dramatically foreshortened figure.
By the way Christ is painted, viewers have difficulty in pinpointing the real dimensions of Christ’s body.[citation needed] Art historian Hubert Schrade points out, “the agitation of dimension of the work, which allows immediate proximity but denies any intimacy.” Mantegna also reduced the size of the figure's feet, which would cover much of the body if represented true to size.[4]
There are several theories about the reason for this apparent discrepancy.
The composition does not fully adhere to the rules of linear perspective, so there is no upright vantage point from which the figure is foreshortened 'correctly.' This has led to speculation that the painting is a study in foreshortening as seen from below, due to the similarities between the proportions of the laying Christ and the putti and other figures in the circular trompe-l'œil in the Camera degli Sposi.
Compared to a model photographed mimicking the pose, Christ's feet appear smaller and the torso more pronounced. John Ward proposes that the discrepancy in proportions may not have been visible to the artist, who was transcribing his perception of multiple planes onto a two-dimensional canvas, such that every part of the figure's body remains the focal point to a scanning eye.[5]
John White refers to Mantegna as a 'master of theoretical perspective,' and German scholar Hans Jantzen proposes that the impossible vantage point creates drama and expressiveness rather than technical accuracy. In directing the viewer, the orthogonal lines carry more symbolic value than structural.
Significance of the Pose
[edit]Steinberg and others' analysis of the crotch framing, Eisler's comment about feet-first depictions will go here.
Analysis
[edit]Being placed at eye level at Christ’s feet, directly in front of his open wounds, invites the viewers to remember the reason for his death. Mantegna presented both a harrowing study of a strongly foreshortened cadaver and an intensely poignant depiction of a biblical tragedy. The portrayal of Jesus Christ's suffering prior to this event is meant to inspire not only pain, but hope. The idea of scherzo, a musical term referring to the lighthearted, playful segment of a symphony, is present in this scene,[6] invoking slight lightness, hope, and promise in anticipation of Christ's future resurrection. The painting is another mirror to the Middle Ages inscriptions on images related to a Christ on the cross or the Passion of the Lord that would say, “Aspice qui transis, quia tu mihi causa doloris (look here, you who are passing by, for you are the cause of my pain).”[7] In addition to being in front of his open injuries, the fabric Christ lies on indicates that this is the time to mourn before he is to be buried. The stone Christ lies on is also known as the Stone of Unction, or the Stone of Anointing, and is the slab onto which Christ's body was laid after being crucified. Viewers are meant to feel that they cannot reach out and touch his body, Shrade noted: "None of the mourners dare touch the corpse, He is untouchable."
One symbolic meaning of a subject being presented feet first in perspective is to indicate that the individual has lost a battle or war. However, it is usually meant to imply that the individual is a degenerate or a loser affected by unfortunate events, such as a flood, or misfortune. This is especially used as imagery for those who were denied of holy or divine protection. Here, however, Mantegna paints one of the most holy figures in such a position.[2]
In the painting, Christ’s head is somewhat turned away from Mary, John, and Mary Magdalene to face the direction of the illumination. This is depicted to symbolize the teachings and promise of God when one is nearing the end of her or his lifespan.[citation needed]
Initial Fate and Provenance
[edit]The Lamentation was counted among Mantegna's possessions at the time of his death. This has led some art historians to categorize the piece as one of Mantegna's final works, while others, such as Kristeller, date it earlier in his career.
The painting may have been rejected by its original patron for its jarring intensity, or because the angle and composition of the piece broke too much with convention for a lamentation scene. Lorenzo Mantegna sold the piece to Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga with permission from Isabella D'Este, a long time patron of Mantegna.[8] It was listed as a decoration for the rooms of Margherita Paleologa in 1531. By 1627, records place it in the 'Camerino delle Dame' where it likely remained until 1630 when much of the collection was stolen and sold off. The painting was next recorded in Rome, in the possession of Cardinal Mazarin. It came to Milan a century and a half later, under the ownership of the Bossi family, who sold it to the Pinacoteca di Brera, where it is currently displayed.[8]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Lamentation over the Dead Christ - Andrea Mantegna". pinacotecabrera.org. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b Eisler, Colin (2006-01-01). "Mantegna's Meditation on the Sacrifice of Christ: His Synoptic Savior". Artibus et Historiae. 27 (53): 9–22. doi:10.2307/20067108. JSTOR 20067108.
- ^ Godfrey, Roger. Andrea Mantegna: Paintings in Close Up. N.p.: Osmora Incorporated, 2015.
- ^ Kleiner, Fred S. Mamiya, Christin J.; Gardner, Helen (eds.). Gardner's Art Through the Ages (13th ed.).
- ^ Ward, John L. (Autumn 1976). "The Perception of Pictorial Space in Perspective Pictures". Leonardo. 9 (4): 279–280 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Finaldi, Gabriele (2003), "Mantegna, Andrea", Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t053902, ISBN 9781884446054, retrieved 2020-11-21
- ^ Finaldi, Gabriele (2003), "Mantegna, Andrea", Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t053902, ISBN 9781884446054, retrieved 2020-11-21
- ^ a b Kristeller, Paul (1901). Andrea Mantegna (English ed. by S. Arthur Strong. ed.). London: Longmans, Green, and Co. pp. 230–231. ISBN 1330094107.
Sources
[edit]- La Grande Storia dell'Arte – Il Quattrocento, Il Sole 24 Ore, 2005
- Kleiner, Frank S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 13th Edition, 2008
- Manca, Joseph. Andrea Mantegna and the Italian Renaissance, 2006
- Andrea Mantegna: Making Art (History). United Kingdom: Wiley, 2015.
- Johnston, Kenneth G. "Hemingway and Mantegna: The Bitter Nail Holes." The Journal of Narrative Technique 1, no. 2 (1971): 86–94. Accessed November 19, 2020. JSTOR 30224967.