The Lamentation of Christ (recto and verso)

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Prints and Drawings

1527/35

Polidoro da Caravaggio
Italian, c. 1499–c. 1543

This two-sided sheet features variations on the subject of the Lamentation of Christ, the period of mourning over Christ’s body after his crucifixion and before his resurrection. The drawing’s most finished side is divided into three scenes. The dead Christ is mourned by his followers at center. His tomb is prepared for his burial at left, and the bodies of the good and bad thieves—the two thieves who were crucified alongside Christ—are carried away at upper right. The sheet’s less-finished side contains a variation on the lamentation scene on the drawing’s front.

Although he was influenced by his master, Raphael, Polidoro later adopted a style of drawing in pen and ink characterized by reduced forms made of agitated strokes and rapid hatching, as seen here.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Polidoro da Caravaggio
Title: The Lamentation of Christ (recto and verso)
Place: Italy (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1527–1535
Medium: Pen and brown ink, with small splatters of opaque green, gray and pink paint, with touches of white gouache (recto) and pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash (verso) on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: 17.5 × 23.7 cm (6 15/16 × 9 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray
Reference Number: 2019.837
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/244909/manifest.json

Florian Härb in Old Master Drawings, Oil Sketches, and Sculpture 1520–1900, online publication, W. M. Brady & Co., New York, Jan. 30–Feb. 15, 2018, cat.1 (ill. recto and verso).

New York, W. M. Brady and Co., Old Master Drawings, Oil Sketches, and Sculpture, 1520–1900, 2018, cat. 1 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, “Pure Drawing: Seven Centuries of Art from the Gray Collection”, January 25 - May 10, 2020, pp. 20-21, cat. 1, p. 130, GC 3, pp. 102-103, fig. 1.2, 1.3., traveled to New York, The Morgan Library, February 19 - June 6, 2021, and Berkeley CA, UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, August 4 - November 28, 2021.

Unknown collector, Italy, probably seventeenth-century [signature gray-blue window mount]. Sir Jonathan Richardson Sr. (1665–1745), London [stamp (Lugt 2184) recto, lower center, in black; inscribed (Lugt 2983), verso of mount, upper center, in pen and brown ink: BB.50. / Jk 63. / H]. Private collection, France. Sold by W. M. Brady and Co., New York, to the Gray Collection Trust, Chicago, Dec. 1, 2017; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2019.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.