The Lamentation

Ludovico Carracci Italian

Not on view

In this astonishing painting, Christ has been painted with a directness and lack of idealization that sixteenth-century critics found shocking, while the figures of the Virgin, the three Maries, and Saint John are strikingly stylized. This experimentation with the means of representation rather than an abstract sense of harmony and beauty characterizes Ludovico’s early work. A landmark of the Carracci reform of painting, the picture belonged to Alessandro Tanari, papal treasurer of Bologna and an avid collector of Ludovico’s paintings.

The Lamentation, Ludovico Carracci (Italian, Bologna 1555–1619 Bologna), Oil on canvas

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.