The Lamentation of Christ (recto and verso)
1527/35
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.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
244909
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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...
About the Artist
Polidoro da Caravaggio · 1492–present
Polidoro Caldara, known as Polidoro da Caravaggio, was born around 1499 in Caravaggio, Lombardy, and emerged as one of the most innovative painters of the early Mannerist period. Arriving in Rome circa 1515 as an untrained laborer hauling plaster for the Vatican Logge decorations, he quickly caught the eye of Raphael's key assistant, Maturino da Firenze. By 1517, Polidoro had joined Raphael's work...