The Lamentation

Unknown

ca. 1480 · Walnut, paint, and gilt · The Cloisters

The highly emotional, wrenching expressions on the faces of the standing figures in this shrine are heavily influenced by the work of the South Netherlandish painter Rogier van der Weyden (ca. 1399–1464). Indeed, it is possible the Spanish workshop that created this work included at least one Netherlandish artist, or perhaps the workshop had access to a sketchbook that included elements taken from Rogier's paintings. The shrine was originally the center section of an altarpiece from the ruined Benedictine monastery of Sopetrán, northeast of Madrid. The two panels with four painted scenes that formed the wings of the retable are now in the Prado, Madrid.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1480

Medium

Walnut, paint, and gilt

Culture

Central Spanish

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1955