Terms and conditions of use
Lamentation of Christ
(late 15th century)
- Medium
- stone
- Measurements
- 91.5 × 95.0 × 18.8 cm
- Place/s of Execution
- Padua, Italy
- Accession Number
- 1276-D4
- Department
- International Sculpture
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented by Tomas Harris Esq., 1952
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
In the fifteenth century a sophisticated type of sculpture using shallow relief carving was developed by the Florentine sculptor Donatello and his followers, including Bartolommeo Bellano. Known as schiacciato or ‘flattened-out’ carving, the technique was widely used for devotional subjects, such as this Lamentation. These sculptures, which were typically painted and gilded, blended subtly with the wall surface, but ‘came to life’ under flickering candle light, which animated the interplay of flattened planes and threw shadows that produced effects of depth.