Description
The Lamentation places Christ’s body in the foreground as mourners bend close around him, with the cross and ladder rising behind the gathering. The contrast between the low, lifeless form and the upright supports gives The Lamentation a strong sense of weight and aftermath. Hands, faces and cloth concentrate the emotional attention on the care being offered to the dead.
Dated 1507 and part of the engraved Passion, the scene uses delicate changes of line to distinguish skin, fabric and the surrounding ground. The closely placed figures bring grief into the scale of personal contact rather than public spectacle. The vertical structure behind them preserves the memory of the Crucifixion without overwhelming their intimate response. Its gravity comes from this meeting of a finished act of violence and the continuing human work of remaining near, supporting and mourning.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Dürer collection.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.