The Lamentation

The Lamentation

Painting on beech

Medium

Painting on beech

[Klein, Report 1991]

Wood

[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, revised 2013]

A traditionally Catholic subject, the lamentation over the dead Christ is described in the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, not in the canonical Bible. Here, Nicodemus holds Mary Magdalene's ointment jar, and Joseph of Arimathea, with the crown of thorns, comforts the mourning Virgin. Saint John supports the dead Christ while

A traditionally Catholic subject, the lamentation over the dead Christ is described in the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, not in the canonical Bible. Here, Nicodemus holds Mary Magdalene's ointment jar, and Joseph of Arimathea, with the crown of thorns, comforts the mourning Virgin. Saint John supports the dead Christ while Mary Magdalene kneels to kiss the wound on Christ's hand. Despite the religious upheaval in northern Europe, Cranach's Protestantism did not prevent him from accepting commissions for Catholic patrons.

[http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-lamentation-30873]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, revised 2013]

Dating
1538

Dating

1538

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 60.3 x 40.0 cm (23 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 60.3 x 40.0 cm (23 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.)

  • [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, revised 2013]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the bottom left, on rock: winged serpent and dated '1538'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the bottom left, on rock: winged serpent and dated '1538'

Labels

- label: 'Franciscus Antonius Comes de Lichtenstein obtulit GO....Nata Comitissa De Oetting pro Eterna memoria die 26 augusti....una Anno …

Labels

later inscription, stamps, seals, labels:

Owner
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Repository
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Location
Boston
CDA ID
US_MFA_74-28
FR (1978) Nr.
FR376F
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_MFA_74-28/

Provenance

- by 1709, Count Franciscus Antonius Liechtenstein. With Joanna, Countess of Paar (Countess of Öttingen) [see note 1].
- by early 19th century, with Desfours de Mont et d'Athienville, Austria [see note 2]. - by 1874, with Charles Sumner, Boston, MA, USA
- 1874, bequest of Sumner to the MFA [see note 3]. (Accession date: April 27, 1874)
- Bequest of Charles Sumner

Notes:
[1] That the panel was in the collections of Count Lichtenstein and Countess Paar is suggested by a label on the back of the object inscribed: 'Franciscus Antonius Comes de Lichtenstein obtulit GO....Nata Comitissa De Oetting pro Eterna memoria die 26 augusti....una Anno 1709.'
[2] That the panel was in the collection of Desfours de Mont et d'Athienville is suggested by a label with the family's coat of arms.
[3] The panel was acquisitioned with the title 'Deposition.'
[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, revised 2013]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 No. 376F
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Kuhn 1936 40 110 pl. XXII
AuthorCharles L. Kuhn
TitleA Catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in American Collections
Place of PublicationCambridge Mass.
Year of Publication1936
Show Literature
Cat. Boston 1921 66 163
EditorMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston
TitleCatalogue of Fine Arts
Place of PublicationBoston
Year of Publication1921
Link http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t44q7v52k
Show Literature
  • The Lamentation, 1538

Images

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Documents

Technical studies

06.03.1991Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: beech wood

Youngest annual ring: 1532

[Klein Report, 06.03.1991]

  • analysed by Peter Klein

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Lamentation', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_MFA_74-28/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
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