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Lamentation over the dead Christ

Maker

(artist)
1727-1804

Title

Date of Production

1700 - 1799

Medium

black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash on laid paper

Dimensions

Height: 46 cm
Width: 35.7 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.3181

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Giandomenico Tiepolo’s mature style is characterised by marvellous inventions and tender, straightforward narrative. Here, he has placed the dead body of Christ at the centre of a sombre scene of mourning, surrounded by his grieving followers. His mother cradles his body in her lap, with Mary Magdalene crouching at his feet. In the left foreground, the Roman soldier, Longinus, who pierced Christ’s side with his spear, sits and weeps. In contrast, on the right, a Roman soldier seemingly stumbles, at a full gallop, into this epic moment. As he pulls his speeding charger up short, a sense of truncated movement is evoked.

Provenance

Federico Madrazo (1815-1894); Tomás Harris, London (1908-1964), by 1939; F.A. Drey (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d. (£120); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Blood Tears Faith Doubt, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 17/06/2010-18/07/2010

Domenico Tiepolo - A New Testament, The Frick Collection, New York, 24/10/2006-07/01/2007

Drawings from the Witt Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art, St James's Square, London; York City Art Gallery; Peterborough Art Gallery, 1953 ...More

Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943

Exhibition of Venetian paintings and drawings, Matthiesen Gallery, London, 1939 ...Less

Literature

Byam Shaw, James, Old master drawings, March 1933
pp. 55ff

Drawings from the Witt Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art, St James's Square, London, York City Art Gallery and Peterborough Art Gallery, 1953
cat. no. 65

Conrad, Christofer, Die grossformatigen religiösen Zeichnungen Giovanni Domenico Tiepolos, PhD dissertation, Heidelberg University 1996
no. 166 ...More

Domenico Tiepolo - A New Testament, The Frick Collection, New York, 2006-2007
cat. no. 202
no. 202
ill. ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: centre: a large crescent moon (see tracing in file, possibly a variant of Heawood 859 - Milan 1806).

Inscription: none.

Collector's mark: Verso: lower left corner, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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