Lamentation

Lorenzo Monaco spent most of his lifetime as a monk inside the monastery Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. His deeply felt, innermost faith showed fully in the manner in which he represented the scene of the Lamentation. In the bleak, deserted place, dominated by a large cross, the Virgin Mary and other close associates grieve over the death of Christ. Deep sadness beset the whole landscape: it is as if time has stopped; apart from the group of the lamenting people, no living soul can be seen. The gloomy mood is even enhanced by the vertical lines of the darkened rocks and towers in the background. The scene of the Lamentation was originally part of a three-piece altar, its wings with the scenes of Christ on the Mount of Olives and Three Marys at the Tomb are kept in the collections of the Louvre in Paris.