Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Macerata
The painting depicts a Pietà, but the original gold that characterized the background and halos has been lost, while the golden highlights that enrich the characters' garments remain.
In the center is the dead Christ, embraced by the Virgin Mary, who rests her face on her Son's cheek, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Mary Magdalene, who is shown kissing the stigmata on his hand.
The entire scene is set behind a marble balustrade, while behind Christ's body lies a purple cloth of honor with gold elements, probably inserted using the mission technique, i.e., by adhering the precious foil with animal glue.
The body of Christ is delicately wrapped in a yellow sheet by the Virgin and St. John.
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ was first reported by Federico Zeri in 1961 in the Muti-Bussi collection in Rome, subsequently included in the Cassa di Risparmio di Macerata and then in the Fondazione Carima. Today, the work is located in Palazzo Ricci, Museo Arte Italiana del Novecento.
The original provenance of the panel is unknown, but it is believed to have been part of the cymatium of a polyptych. The scene is set under a strongly lowered arch, which is the structure most used by Vittore in the final phase of his career. Therefore, the painting has been stylistically included in a group of works that probably constituted a large altarpiece. This is the polyptych painted for the Franciscans of Montesanto, now Potenza Picena, which is now kept at the Fitzwilliam Museum. It is also linked to Saint Clare of Assisi, in a private collection, which was exhibited in the exhibition dedicated to the artist in 2011 in Sarnano.
The panels that were previously indicated consist of plaster halos applied with a brush and a background with a grate pattern, which unfortunately are elements that we have lost in the Lamentation over the Dead Christ in Macerata.
Alessandro Delpriori (2011) observed that “We are faced with a depiction of sweetened pathos, in some ways far from Carlo's cruel, scathing expressions, but closer to artists such as Lorenzo d'Alessandro or Niccolò di Liberatore, in which the rendering of emotions, while often reaching unexpected heights of quality, is never exaggerated.”
Vittore Crivelli
Compianto su Cristo morto, 1497
Tempera su tavola, 74×74 cm
Palazzo Ricci – Museo Arte Italiana del Novecento
Via Domenico Ricci, 1
Macerata (MC)
Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Macerata
The painting depicts a Pietà, but the original gold that characterized the background and halos has been lost, while the golden highlights that enrich the characters' garments remain.
In the center is the dead Christ, embraced by the Virgin Mary, who rests her face on her Son's cheek, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Mary Magdalene, who is shown kissing the stigmata on his hand.
The entire scene is set behind a marble balustrade, while behind Christ's body lies a purple cloth of honor with gold elements, probably inserted using the mission technique, i.e., by adhering the precious foil with animal glue.
The body of Christ is delicately wrapped in a yellow sheet by the Virgin and St. John.
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ was first reported by Federico Zeri in 1961 in the Muti-Bussi collection in Rome, subsequently included in the Cassa di Risparmio di Macerata and then in the Fondazione Carima. Today, the work is located in Palazzo Ricci, Museo Arte Italiana del Novecento.
The original provenance of the panel is unknown, but it is believed to have been part of the cymatium of a polyptych. The scene is set under a strongly lowered arch, which is the structure most used by Vittore in the final phase of his career. Therefore, the painting has been stylistically included in a group of works that probably constituted a large altarpiece. This is the polyptych painted for the Franciscans of Montesanto, now Potenza Picena, which is now kept at the Fitzwilliam Museum. It is also linked to Saint Clare of Assisi, in a private collection, which was exhibited in the exhibition dedicated to the artist in 2011 in Sarnano.
The panels that were previously indicated consist of plaster halos applied with a brush and a background with a grate pattern, which unfortunately are elements that we have lost in the Lamentation over the Dead Christ in Macerata.
Alessandro Delpriori (2011) observed that “We are faced with a depiction of sweetened pathos, in some ways far from Carlo's cruel, scathing expressions, but closer to artists such as Lorenzo d'Alessandro or Niccolò di Liberatore, in which the rendering of emotions, while often reaching unexpected heights of quality, is never exaggerated.”