Description

Detail Views

The Crucifixion and the Lamentation belongs to the earliest known set of tapestries woven from Italian cartoons. Probably commissioned by the Basilica of San Marco, the set would have been appropriate for festivities relating to the cult of the Holy Sepulcher that was celebrated at the basilica during this period (Venice being the gateway for western European pilgrims on their journey to Jerusalem). Closely related to the work of artists active in Venice in the first quarter of the fifteenth century, particularly that of Niccolò di Pietro (active 1394–1430), the design contrasts markedly with that of contemporary Netherlandish production.