Preview

The Lamentation over the Dead Christ

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ
Rembrandt (1610-1612) 31.9 x 26.7 cm The subject matter is the Christ on the cross. The painting looks very depressing because of the dead people and Christ and the thieves on the crosses. “The theme of the Lamentation is traditional, although it is not described in the Bible. It shows Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and others, weeping over his body after the Crucifixion. Rembrandt's picture is carefully constructed to connect with other episodes of the story of Christ's suffering and death. The two thieves remind us of the Crucifixion itself. The figures climbing down the ladders recall the Deposition, when Christ's body was brought down from the cross. The group of people on the right includes a man with a feathered hat, whose elegant dress may be meant to suggest Joseph of Arimathaea, who provided the tomb for the Entombment, the burial of Christ.” (http://www.nationalgalleryimages.co.uk/)
Crucifixion of Jesus was the meaning of this artwork. The colors that were used were a lot of black and gray, a little white, tan, and brown. The style was monochrome oil sketch or grisaille for an etching and it was placed in the Italian Renaissance work. Rembrandt van Rijn was a famous artist and The Lamentation over the Dead Christ was one of his one of his most famous pieces of artwork. The unity is Jesus on the cross and the conceptual unity is the Crucifixion of Jesus. He put in a radial balance in the painting. Rembrandt uses contour and actual lines throughout the painting. The center point is Jesus in the middle being crucified on the cross. The emphasis is on Jesus. The focal point is Jesus on the cross. The secondary area of interest is the thieves on the other two crosses on the left side of the painting. Rembrandt used one type of shape and it was geometric. The geometric shapes were throughout the painting and you can measure the human figures, ladders, crosses, and buildings. He uses

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Dreux Budé Master creates a very somber setting in his painting of The Crucifixion (1490). His painting is played in a three-dimensional perspective, with obvious emphasis directed toward the crucifixion of Christ. Christ himself is the epitome of the humanist form, his sacrifice for the people before him. His earthly inhabitance paving the way for all other humans alike, allowing them to dwell and prosper in the nature that the earth had given them. The expressions of those who surround Christ are very stoic, the natural lighting is minimal which allows the painting to further take on a very somber mood. The landscape aids in drawing attention to the focal point of the crucifixion, the winding of the hills that the city-people must surpass illustrates that, “no man 's wit can alter the nature of things, and there is no way to reach the heights by going downward” (2). This idea…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Deposition of Christ painted by the artist Rogier van der Weyden is the most influential Netherlandish painting of Christ’s crucifixion. Based on the work’s style, and because van der Weyden reached renown around this time, is estimated that the painting was created in the year 1435 (1). The painting was an altarpiece, intended for the Chapel of the Confraternity of the Archers of Leuven, who commissioned it. The scene shown would have lasted a moment, but there is nothing momentary about its depiction, which is quite attached to the historical event. Rogier emphasized the energy of the painting creating a life-like piece that clearly recreates the moment of pain for Christ and his friends.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is yet another well-known story from the Bible. It shows a child kneeling on the ground embraced in the arms of someone who means a lot to him. According to Frank this painting symbolized a disobedient son who left his father and home to be on his own and when he had nothing left he crawled back expecting his father to turn him away. But he did not open his arms to let him back in. The painting demonstrates the Baroque style. The emotion and drama involved show the most heartfelt part of the story, not the pain or betrayal only the love of a father and son. The light is brightest on the father and son. Here he interprets the Christian idea of mercy with an extraordinary solemnity, as though this were his spiritual testament to the world (Web Gallery of Art,…

    • 1280 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Along the sides of the nave, are paintings of the Stations of the Cross. With these paintings we see symbolic, iconic, and anionic images of Jesus. The Stations of the Cross are fourteen images of Jesus as he is condemned to death, carries the cross, is nailed to the cross, dies on the cross, and is then laid in the tomb. At each Station of the Cross, there is a prayer that follows along with the story. The First Station has an image of Jesus Christ being tried and condemned to death. In this iconic image I saw that Jesus…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, the artist who painted this visual was a famous German artist named Lucas Cranach the Elder. This painting conveys Martin Luther and his followers using a big quill to write their request for religious reform on the door of the church. These demands posted on the door was the Ninety-five Theses of 1517, this sparked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The artist created this artwork to show Luther and his supporters hanging up the demands that the people at this period had for the Roman Catholic church and what that day looked like during the making of the Ninety-five Theses. The artist, Cranach the Elder, represented the madness and chaos of problems the people were having by showing the request being hanged upon the door and in the background. This action shows explosions that represents war and violence due to wrong morals of the church.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first panel is the donors that commissioned the painting by Campin, the second panel is the same Annunciation scene of Mary and Gabriel but depicted quite differently, and the third panel is Saint Joseph. This painting pays close attention to clarity and detail, with varying colors and realism. The painting is in oil, and has a style that reflects the Northern Renaissance period. For example, the angel and Mary do not have halos, and it lacks linear perspective. The lack of halos, as well as Mary’s face (which doesn’t seem too happy about the fact that she is about to conceive Christ’s child) could relate to the religious separation that Northern Europe was experiencing during the Renaissance. Northern Renaissance art is very well known for its symbolism, and in this painting nearly every object is symbolic of spiritual ideas (Harris). For example, lilies represent Mary’s virginity, Joseph’s tools represent the Passion of the Christ, and the extinguished candle represents God taking human…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He speaks the truth in a creative and artistic way. The message here is to bring deity such as Jesus Christ closer to humans, as there is no difference between god and human beings. It is hard to distinguish if this artwork is a photo or a painting since the saturation is too deep, which makes it special and outstanding among other art…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Annunciation Analysis

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The nine elements of composition are: dynamic vs. stable, balance, rhythm, line, textures, masses, space, color, and modeling (36-76). The composition of “The Annunciation” is mostly stable, from the straight lines of the walls, the rays of light, and the upright positions of Mary and angel Gabriel. It is also partly dynamic because of the folds of fabric, the arches towards the ceiling, and angel Gabriel’s wings. There is evident rhythm from the repeated rays of light, hands, and wings. Although the textures in the painting are only simulated and not real, they are extremely realistic. Especially on the clothes, hair, and skin. The three largest masses in the painting are Mary, then archangel Gabriel or the large red bed behind Mary, then God off in the distance of the painting. Master of the Retable used all the techniques of space that Gill mentions: a register line, overlapping, foreshortening, diminishing size, aerial perspective, and scientific perspective. The sense of space in this painting is spectacular and is something that artists of the Renaissance and High Renaissance were able to achieve for the first time. There are many warm colors, for example, the bed behind Mary, the outside of archangel Gabriel’s cloak, God’s clothes, and Mary’s hair. The cool colors of the painting include Mary’s clothes and the landscape outside. The light source…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Adoration of Magi

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The bright vivid colors attracted me to this work; I found it interesting how the artist played off of mostly reds and blues and I liked how my attention was immediately drawn to the center of the painting. All of the people seemed to be involved in the miraculous birth of the Jesus. The greatest aesthetic strength of this painting is its use of vivid color, the aesthetic weakness I found was the lack of the artistic use of shadow. I…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Often, the paintings of Mary and Jesus used mainly red and blue and are used interchangeably with one another. Red symbolized the blood and the martyred heroes, whereas the blue stood for heaven, serenity and calmness. Mary was crowned as the queen of heaven when she died and Jesus brought her up to heaven to stand with him in the kingdom of God. Likewise, Romulus and Remus would’ve done the same and bring their mother to live with them in their kingdom/city. In person, it is more stunning to witness not only due to the size, but also because of the vividness the painting still holds after all these years. It seemed as though it was done almost yesterday due to the freshness the content displayed and in comparison to all the other artworks in the area, this stood out to me due to the colors itself. Mignard’s choice to bring attention to the individuals’ clothing by surrounding it with darker colors in the background created a contrast that was not too harsh to view and the bright colors lures one’s eyes into it. Also, his choice of the lighting created a focus that draws the viewer in so they would not have to look elsewhere to determine what the “thesis” of the artwork is. Lastly, the details of the painting are astonishing to see up close. The brushstrokes of the dog’s hair looked as if you could touch it, the muscles in the shepherd’s legs and arms…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cimabue is known for being well adept in both his technical knowledge and his move towards more humanistic interpretations of religious figures and saints. This painting is a mix of the traditional guiding (applying the layer of the gold leaf) and the wooden structure, with a Jesus who is clearly in pain (the most natural side to Cimabue’s work), unlike older interpretations. The Jesus on the this Crucifix is clearly in anguish shown noticeably by the position of his body and the details in his face – closed eyes, tilted head, open mouth. This interpretation of Christ looks lifeless,…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    St Christopher Analysis

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The paintings illustrating Christ’s crucifixion emphasize both his sacrifice to rid the world of sin, as well as the idea of everlasting life after death. For example, the Triptych with the Crucifixion, an oil painting on panel, illustrates the portrayals of Christ that were commonly repeated throughout the medieval period. The scene of the Crucifixion in the middle is supported by a scene of Pope Gregory the Great experiencing a vision of Christ during Mass and a scene of Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child. The closed side panels also show a scene of the Annunciation, in which the angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive the Son of God. These four scenes all share the common purpose of reinforcing the idea of Christ as a man, but also briefly suggest his transcendence. Although he is not the most imposing or impressive character in each scene, from conception to posthumous miracle, Christ is the clear subject matter in every case, demonstrating the dual nature of his divinity and…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    o start of by talking about the early Renaissance Art, the definition is that Renaissance “was a period when scholars and artists began to investigate what they believed to be revival of classical learning, literature and art”. The first painting that caught my eyes while reading chapter twelve was the Deposition. This piece was painted by Rogier van der Weyden. The reason why I really liked this piece was because it was a very meaningful piece about Christ. The Deposition is a painting of the removal of Christ’s body from the cross. According to the book, this artwork was very popular in the fifteenth century because of it’s potential for a dramatic, personally engaging portrayal. The book also says that Jesus’ friends seem noticeably real,…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hated Art Project

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Eventually it hit me why I was drawn to this particular painting out of all the rest. It was the fact that probably no one else thought to wonder other then Tissot, what Jesus saw, or for that matter, what exactly was on his mind as he was nailed to a cross looking down on all the people that were looking up at him. Yet in Tissot’s mind’s eye, after reading this biblical story came up with the idea to paint this portrait from the viewpoint of Jesus. I find this to be absolutely amazing to come up with this idea.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Magic of Crucifixion

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Born in 1460, Grunewald was a German artist named fully as Matthias Gothardt Neithardt (Fiero, p.129). His beliefs do not lie in the idealized figures that the early Renaissance portrayed, he believed more in brutal distortion and the naturalistic ideal (Fiero, p.129). In the portrait itself the setting is much darker, and the focus of the lamentation is placed by the darkened landscape (Fiero, p.130). There is also a separate image of the pieta right below the main painting. These figures are much more mournful. Christ 's suffering is portrayed through the traditional group which includes Mary, St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary Magdalene (Pioch, par. 1). The figures are all sorrowful in the most dramatic passion. Christ is portrayed as bigger than human, when you pay attention to the proportion of the hands between him and Mary you can truly see the significant difference. When looking at the figure of John the Baptist, his finger point to a Latin inscription that translates into "He must increase and I must decrease" and this is an exaggeration of the other attending figures (Fiero, p. 130). The artists view point of this image is clearly…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays