Lamentation of Christ

Examples of Lamentation of Christ in the following topics:

• Painting in the Middle Byzantine Empire

  • This can be seen in the fresco of the Lamentation found in the Church of Saint Pantaleimon in the city of Nerezi, Macedonia, an illumination of the Death of St.
  • The Lamentation of Christ is an iconic scene that depicts the Virgin Mary hold and mourning her dead son, just after Christ has been removed from the cross.
  • John grasps Christ's right hand while Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus kneel at Christ's feet.
  • As in the Lamentation scene above, the Death of St.
  • Like the figure of Christ in the Lamentation, Onesimus seems to hover over the landscape and rest the top half of his body on the leg of one of his attackers.

• Foreshortening

  • Along with linear perspective, foreshortening is one of the two most characteristic features of perspective in two-dimensional media.
  • The technique is characterized by the size of an object's dimensions along the line of sight being relatively shorter than dimensions across the line of sight.
  • The painting "The Lamentation Over the Dead Christ" by Andrea Mantegna, c. 1475, is one of the most famous of a number of works that display the technique .
  • This painting is one of many examples of the artist's mastery of perspective.
  • Mantegna uses the technique of foreshortening in this painting to depict Christ's body.

• Distortions of Space and Foreshortening

  • Distortion is used to create various representations of space in two-dimensional works of art.
  • A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of an object, image, sound, or other form of information or representation.
  • However, it is more commonly referred to in terms of perspective, where it is employed to create realistic representations of space in two-dimensional works of art.
  • The most common of these is perspective projection.
  • This is also a common feature of wide-angle anamorphic lenses of less than 40mm focal length in cinematography.

• Mannerism and the Counter-Reformation

  • Michelangelo was accused of being insensitive to proper decorum, and of flaunting personal style over appropriate depictions of content.
  • Scipione Pulzone's painting of the Lamentation, commissioned for the Gesu Church in 1589, gives a clear demonstration of what the Council of Trent was striving for in the new style of religious art.
  • With the focus of the painting giving direct attention to the crucifixion of Christ, it complies with the religious content of the council and shows the story of the Passion while keeping Christ in the image of the ideal human.
  • The Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo (1534–41) came under persistent attack in the Counter-Reformation for nudity (later painted over for several centuries), not showing Christ seated or bearded, and including the pagan figure of Charon.
  • Scipione Pulzone's Lamentation, a pious depiction of the Crucifixion, embodied a typical Counter-Reformation work.

• Painting in the Late Byzantine Empire

  • The paintings in the Church of Christ in Chora are representative of the style of painting produced in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire.
  • Icons were placed on the iconostasis following a general guideline that included the presence of a Deesis, Christ enthroned surrounded by John the Baptist and the Theotokos.
  • This was also seen in the Theotokos of the Hagia Sophia, but in this case the architecture provides more of a place setting, as in the landscape of the Lamentation from Nerezi.
  • The central image of Christ on the cross is surrounded by mourners, including his mother.
  • While less dramatic and more serene, there is an underlying emotion of sadness that subtly depicted by the sway of Christ's body.

• The Chora Church in Constantinople

  • An inscription in the mosaic reads, "Jesus Christ, Land of the Living."
  • He offers Christ a representation of the Chora Church in his hands.
  • This image depicts Christ in Hell, saving the souls of the Old Testament.
  • The expression of Christ and the others are dignified and stern.
  • The depictions of Christ in the Chora Church differ greatly from those of the third and fourth centuries.

• Romanesque Sculpture: Majestat Batlló

  • Carved wooden images were a fundamental element in churches as objects of worship, and one of the most elaborate types in Catalonia was the Christ in Majesty: images of Christ on the Cross that symbolize his triumph over death.
  • Although the corners of his mouth turn slightly downward, Christ's open eyes and unfurrowed brow create the impression of a self-possessed impassivity.
  • They can be seen as a visualization or image of the Apocalyptic Christ from the Book of Revelation.
  • It is thought that the tradition of depicting Christ in such costume was brought to Catalonia by artisans from Pisa, who arrived in 1114 to help Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, in his conquest of the Balearic Islands.
  • It is one of the most elaborate examples in Catalonia of an image of Christ on the Cross symbolizing his triumph over death.

• Jelling Stones

  • This larger stone is often cited as Denmark's baptismal certificate (dåbsattest), containing a depiction of Christ and an inscription celebrating the conversion of the Danes to Christianity.
  • Harald's stone has a figure of Jesus Christ on one side and on another side a serpent wrapped around a lion.
  • Of interest to scholars is the depiction of Christ as standing in the shape of a cross and entangled in what appear to be branches.
  • This Jelling Stone, with its depiction of Christ and celebration of the Conversion of the Danes, is widely regarded as Denmark's "baptismal certificate."
  • The figure of Christ on Harald's runestone.

• Objects of Worship in the Middle Byzantine Empire

  • The Harbaville Triptych depicts a scene of Deesis with Christ as the Pantokrator, while the Borradaile Triptych depicts an image of the Crucifixion.
  • Christ sits on an elaborate throne as the Pantokrator, with a book of Gospels in one arm and his hand gesturing in a motion of blessing.
  • The Borradaile Triptych's main image depicts the Crucifixion of Christ instead of a Deesis.
  • The central scene is dominated by the image of Christ on the cross.
  • Except for Christ's upper body, which is unclothed, the bodies of the figures are defined by their rigid drapery.

• Painting in the Early Byzantine Empire

  • For example, earlier art might have featured a lamb or a fish rather than Christ in human form.
  • Christ, the saints, and the angels all have halos.
  • White is the Uncreated Light of God, only used for scenes depicting the resurrection and transfiguration of Christ.
  • The surviving evidence of the earliest depictions of Christ, Mary, and the saints therefore comes from wall-paintings, mosaics, and some carvings.
  • This mosaic from the mid-fifth century is an example of a “generic” beardless Christ, as he might have appeared in contemporaneous icons.