Lamentation of Christ

Donated by Vojtěch Lanna in 1885. The sheet is a work by Jusepe (José) de Ribera, a major Spanish Baroque painter and graphic artist. He left for Italy while still young and settled in Naples in 1616, where he did most of his work. Therefore, Ribera is considered to be of the Italian, rather than the Spanish, school. His paintings are characterized by expressivity and naturalism. He also excelled in graphic art - he did eighteen sheets in etching, which met with a considerable response. Some authors do not attribute Lamentation of Christ to Ribera. Certain imperfections, however, can be explained by the fact that Ribera did not complete the sheet plate, as corroborated by a vaguely outlined ladder above Christ’s head or the tentative use of dry point (e.g. in St John’s hair). The mirror image of the monogram GR was added later. Moreover, Ribera’s authorship is supported by mentions of a lost canvas with the same theme, which he is believed to have painted before 1620.