Andrea Mantegna (Italian, 1431 – 1506)
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Andrea Mantegna’s Lamentation of Christ, housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, is a portrayal of the aftermath of Christ’s crucifixion. Painted around 1483, it depicts the lifeless body of Jesus being mourned by the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Saint John the Evangelist. The most striking aspect of the painting is Mantegna’s use of foreshortening to create a sense of depth and realism.
The painting was found in Mantegna’s studio at the time of his death, sold by his son Ludovico to Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga and inventoried among the property of the lords of Mantua in 1627.
The iconography of the work, probably intended for the artist’s private devotion, refers to the compositional scheme of the Lamentation over the Dead Christ, in which mourners are gathered around the body prepared for burial, laid out on the stone of unction and already anointed with perfumes.
The composition produces a great emotional impact, accentuated by the extreme foreshortening: Christ’s body is very close to the viewpoint of the observer who, looking at it, is drawn into the center of the drama; every detail is enhanced, the rigor mortis of the body and the wounds of the crucifixion.
It is an absolute peak in Mantegna’s production, a work whose expressive force and masterly handling of the illusion of perspective have made it one of the best-known symbols of the Italian Renaissance.
The Khan Academy has a beautiful video with explanation about Mantegna’s Lamentation of Christ. worth viewing before visiting.