Description
The iconography of the work, probably intended for the artist’s private devotion, refers to the compositional scheme of the Lamentation over the Dead Christ, in which the mourners are grouped around the body of the Master, prepared for burial, lying on the stone of anointing and already anointed with perfumes.
The most compelling hypothesis, despite the uncertainties arising from the existence of several variations on the same theme, identifies the painting in the Brera (Milan) with the “foreshortened Christ” found in Mantegna’s workshop at the time of his death, sold by his son Ludovico to Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga and inventoried among the property of the rulers of Mantua in 1627.
The painting’s subsequent history remains a subject of debate among scholars, who must contend with a complicated series of changes in ownership that are only partially and confusingly documented. According to the most recent, though inconclusive, theory, the painting was sold in 1628 to Charles I of England, along with the most valuable works in the Gonzaga collection; it then entered the antiques market and passed into the collection of Cardinal Mazarin. When the latter’s collection was dispersed, it disappeared for more than a century. Nothing more was known about the painting until 1806. In fact, Giuseppe Bossi, secretary of the Accademia di Brera, asked the sculptor Antonio Canova to act as an intermediary in the purchase of his “coveted Mantegna,” which finally arrived at the Pinacoteca in 1824.
The composition has a powerful emotional impact, heightened by the extreme foreshortening: Christ’s body is very close to the viewer’s vantage point, drawing them into the heart of the drama as they look at it. Moreover, every detail is intensified by the incisiveness of the lines, which forces the eye to linger on the most finely rendered features, on the limbs stiffened by rigor mortis, and on the wounds, openly displayed in the foreground as the tradition of this type of image demands.
The theme of the Lamentation is common in medieval and Renaissance art, although this treatment, which dates back to a subject known as the Anointing of Christ, is unusual for its time. Most Lamentations show much more contact between the mourners and the body. Rich contrasts of light and shadow abound, infused with a profound sense of pathos. The realism and tragedy of the scene are reinforced by the extreme perspective, which foreshortens and dramatizes the recumbent figure, emphasizing the anatomical details, particularly Christ’s chest. The holes in Christ’s hands and feet, as well as the faces of the two mourners, are depicted without any concession to idealism or rhetoric. The carefully drawn drapery covering the corpse contributes to the dramatic effect. Unique to this painting is a composition that places the central focus of the image on Christ’s genitals, an artistic choice open to a multitude of interpretations. Instead, Mantegna succeeded in painting a highly specific depiction of physical and emotional trauma.
Mantegna presented both a harrowing study of a heavily foreshortened corpse and an intensely moving depiction of a biblical tragedy. This painting is one of many examples of the artist’s mastery of perspective. At first glance, the painting appears to be a remarkably realistic study in foreshortening. However, close scrutiny reveals that Mantegna reduced the size of the figure’s feet, which, as he must have known, would cover much of the body if depicted correctly.
Mantegna probably made this painting for his personal funerary chapel. His children found it in his studio after his death and sold it to pay his debts.
This masterpiece is typical of Mantegna’s art, in which the confined space in the painting is architecturally defined as the cold, gloomy cell of a morgue. Looking inside, we see an almost monstrous spectacle: a heavy corpse, seemingly swollen by the exaggerated foreshortening. In the foreground are two enormous feet with holes; to the left, fixed masks stained with tears. But a second look dispels the initial shock, and a rational structure can be discerned beneath the dim light. Christ’s face, like the other faces, is furrowed with wrinkles, which harmonize with the watery satin of the pink pillow, the pale granulations of the marble slab, and the veined onyx of the ointment jar. The damp folds of the shroud emphasize the folds of the taut skin, like parchment torn around the dry wounds. All these lines echo in the wild waves of the hair.
Mantegna’s realism prevails over any aesthetic indulgence that might arise from an exaggerated dwelling on the material aspects of his subject. His realism is, in turn, governed by an exalted poetic feeling for suffering and Christian resignation. Mantegna’s creative power lies in his own interpretation of the “historical,” and in his feeling for spectacle on both a small and a grand scale. Beyond his apparent coolness and studied detachment, Mantegna’s sensibilities are those of a historian and, like all great historians, he is deeply humane. He has a tragic sense of history and of humanity’s fate, and of the problems of good and evil, life and death.
This famous painting is an absolute pinnacle of Mantegna’s oeuvre, a work whose expressive power, austere composure, and masterful handling of the illusion of perspective have made it one of the best-known symbols of the Italian Renaissance.
The painting is housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy.