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Catalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 231:

Technical notes: The support consists of a single
piece of plain weave fabric. The painting has been
relined and mounted on a stretcher. The left, right and
lower edges of the motif have probably been trimmed.
Preparation consists of a thickly applied ground that
completely covers the structure of the support.
The paint layer has been applied thickly and opaquely
– this is most apparent in the pale paint layers (the flesh
tones in Christ and Mary Magdalene and the pale drapery).
Christ’s loin-cloth has been painted partly over the
right leg. Christ’s neck has been corrected and is partly
painted over the figure standing in the background. In
places the motif has been enhanced with contour lines,
mainly in the hands and Christ’s knee.

The painting is in good condition. It underwent conservation
treatment in 1928, 1948, 1969 and 1989.

Provenance: KM 1816, no. 722 (as Anthony van Dyck).

Bibliography: Sander IV, p. 99, no. 722 (as Anthony
van Dyck); Göthe 1887, pp. 287–288; Göthe 1893, pp.
346–347; NM Cat. 1958, p. 218; NM Cat. 1990, p. 384.

This painting is a copy of the central scene in the triptych
by Cornelis de Vos in the cathedral in Antwerp.
The triptych was formerly in St. Andrew’s church in
Antwerp and its centre depicts the Lamentation of
Christ, while the two side panels contain portraits of
the Flemish painter Jan de Wael and his wife. For stylistic
reasons in earlier texts the painting in the
Nationalmuseum has been linked with Anthony van
Dyck (see Sander IV, p. 99). In 1887 Göthe mentions
that the Nationalmuseum’s painting has been attributed
to Van Dyck by Guiffrey on the grounds that certain
elements in the composition bear a distant resemblance
to Van Dyck’s treatment of the same subject.1
However, a letter from R. Pandelaers at Rubenshuis
dated 7 September 1956 deals with the Nationalmuseum’s
painting and its relationship to the triptych in
Antwerp by Cornelis de Vos that was placed above
Ambrosius Capello’s masusoleum.2

The popularity of this motif is shown by its use in
the altarpiece of Bromma church, just outside Stockholm
and at Ekenäs church in Finland.3
The first mention of the painting depicting the
Lamentation of Christ can be found in the Royal
Museum’s inventory for 1816 and states that it is a
17th-century work. The work is of a high technical
standard. The painting portrays the dead Christ with
closed eyes and a heavy body sitting on a pedestal on
which the crown of thorns and the nails are depicted
next to the text INRI. The body is partly swathed in a
pale garment. Next to Christ Mary Magdalene is portrayed
with long flowing hair and her eyes closed in
introspection. In the background we see the Virgin
Mary, her head veiled, in a prayerful pose as well as
John, his gaze downcast in sorrow. The eyes of all the
figures are closed, which enhances the expression of
gravity, meditation and sorrow.
KS

1 See Göthe 1887, pp. 287-288. Göthe refers to Guiffrey, no. 137 and to his
reference to Anthony van Dyck no. 403 in Antwerp (cat. 1874).
2 According to R. Pandelaer’s letter to Pontus Grate dated 7 September 9,
1956, the painting in the Nationalmuseum depicts the central motif in
the triptych by C. de Vos in Antwerp Cathedral. The original is painted
on wood and is flanked by two panels portraying the painter Jan de Wael
and his wife Gertrude de Jode. See the NM curatorial files.
3 See Göthe 1887.[End]

Kristi begråtande