The Meditation on the Passion

Vittore Carpaccio

ca. 1490 · Oil and tempera on wood · European Paintings

This remarkable picture is a meditation on death and resurrection. Christ’s dead body is displayed on a broken throne inscribed in pseudo-Hebrew. A bird, a symbol of the soul, flies upward. The landscape—contrastingly barren and lush—alludes to the themes of death and life, as do the animals. The Old Testament prophet Job sits on a block inscribed in pseudo-Hebrew while opposite is Saint Jerome (ca. 347–420), who wrote a commentary on the book of Job. The turbaned figures in the background would have been familiar to Venetians through their trade with the Middle East and Egypt.

Artist

Vittore Carpaccio

Date

ca. 1490

Medium

Oil and tempera on wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1911