Lamentation

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Artist Albrecht Dürer (German, May 21, 1471–April 6, 1528)

Title Lamentation (Die Beweinung Christi)

Plate Number Plate 9

Series The Large Passion

Date Ca. 1497–1500, published 1511

Medium Woodcut on paper

Dimensions Image: 15 5/16 × 11 in. (38.9 × 27.9 cm)
Sheet: 15 5/16 × 11 in. (38.9 × 27.9 cm)

Credit Line Gift of Ernst Anspach, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 63.159

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About this Work

A group of mourners gently cradle the body of Christ before lifting it into the stone tomb just behind them. His body now visibly limp and emaciated, Christ’s features still register the pain of the torments he endured on the cross. Printmakers like Martin Schongauer occasionally depicted the dead Christ as an almost tranquil figure. However, Dürer’s choice to emphasize the physical agonies of Christ’s ordeal was consistent with late medieval depictions of the Passion, which more often tended to be gruesome. This also encouraged Dürer’s audience to cultivate empathy with Christ and develop an unvarnished awareness of the mortal body’s fragility.

Provenance
More Details

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

Publisher Albrecht Dürer (German, May 21, 1471–April 6, 1528)
Plate Number Plate 9
Series Title The Large Passion
Foreign Language Series Title Die Große Passion

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"Lamentation | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=63.159