Spanish or Italian school, 18th century. Following models by JOSÉ DE RIBERA (Játiva, Valencia, 1591-Naples, 1652).
"Lamentation over the Dead Christ".
Oil on canvas.
Repainting, restorations.
Frame of the 19th century.
Measurements: 81,5 x 126,5 cm; 86,5 x 132,5 cm (frame).
This canvas depicts the theme of the Lamentation before the body of Christ, a theme paired with The Descent from the Cross, and which, in the painting by Ribera on which it is inspired, is entitled "The Pietà" (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). In Ribera's painting, Magdalena kisses the feet of the lifeless body and the Virgin and Saint John are also present. In the present painting, the same figures appear, set against a black background that enhances their volumes, although they differ in their gestures. Stylistically, however, the direct influence of "El Españoleto" dominates: the way in which a powerful light builds up the volumes and cuts out the gestures, staging the moment of contained pain, the silent pathos. As in Ribera's models, the allegorical iconography is concealed (the nails, the cross and other symbols of the Passion are not present), and so the attention is concentrated on the bodily and expressive grammar. Ribera's "Pietà", now in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, belongs to a transitional period in which the painter had not yet abandoned his tenebrist illuminations, but in which a concern for new colour was already beginning to be perceived. The present work, which is from the collection of the Marquis of Heredia, depicts a theme that Ribera treated with numerous variations throughout his career. This Pietà is modelled with an energetic brushstroke, selectively illuminated, a device that undoubtedly contributes to accentuating the devout and emotional message contained in the work. Ribera also manages to masterfully express both the physical pain through Christ's open wounds.