The Lamentation by Petrus Christus - Research Paper Example

 The painting chosen for this paper is The Lamentation (Christus, circa 1450) which is a rather small oil on wood painting, not much bigger than an A4 page, from the Renaissance period which is located in New York. The reason for this choice is that it represents an interesting phase in art history spanning the end of medieval style, or Gothic painting, and the beginning of the hugely important Renaissance style and period. In some ways it is very traditional, which is clearly seen in its very common subject choice of the crucifixion of Christ but it also brings some real emotional intensity to the subject, which is more modern, and it was this transitional nature that intrigued me when I viewed it. The iconography of the work is very clear. Although it was painted in around 1450 in the Netherlands city of Bruges, it appears to draw from much older material from the Gospel of John’s account of the events just after Christ was taken down from the cross. “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea… besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus…And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound.” (John 19:38-39). The figures of Joseph and Nicodemus are shown crouching on either side of the body, wearing contemporary fifteenth century Dutch clothing, and they seem quite wealthy, judging by the brightly colored cloaks and jewelled sword that appear. The disciple John supports a grieving Mary in the middle of the picture, and Mary Magdalene reaches over from the left. These characters too reflect in their clothing the prosperous lifestyle and environment of mid fifteenth century Bruges. Historians have pointed out that Bruges was a center for art and commerce in this period (Blockmans and Prevenier, 1999, p. 219), bringing together the wealth of the Bugundian ducal courts, which ruled the region, and the commercial skills of powerful artisan guilds which regulated the quality and supply of high value artistic commodities. It may even be said that “the very invention of an art market may have been one of this period’s most enduring contributions to European culture” (Blockmans and Prevenier, 1999, p. 135). Whereas traditional customers for art in medieval times had been mainly noblemen and high figures in the Church, the prosperous trading center of Bruges offered a clientele of wealthy burghers, travelling collectors, and lower level clergy as well as these traditional sponsors. It is likely that this promising economic environment is what attracted the painter Petrus Christus to travel from his home near Antwerp to the city of Bruges, so that he could buy citizenship there and thus be allowed to set himself up as a professional artist. (Meagher, 2008). He was already a skilled artist when he became known to history, and so it is likely he served an apprenticeship in both large scale painting and in painting for books and miniatures. It is important to remember that the printing press and modern book trade had not yet been invented, and so artists were called upon to assist in the preparation of illuminated manuscripts. It was also a period of considerable debate in the Churches, particularly in northern Europe where protestant reforms and Roman Catholic counter reforms were raging in the long struggle which we now call the reformation. Harbison notes that this turmoil pushed many wealthy people in the Netherlands to follow a more private and home-based religion, and that this may have resulted in the patronage of religious art shifting towards private buyers: “lay patrons outnumbered clerical by a ratio of two to one” (Harbison, 1995, 94). Instead of attending daily mass in the church, people would read religious prayer books, or meditate in front of small images. This painting by Petrus Christus appears to fit this context: it is of modest size, highly portable and probably designed either for a specific middle class client, or for sale to any passing buyer who wanted something for his or her private use. In terms of style the work has a distinctly intimate atmosphere. The scene is outdoors, but most of the painting is taken up by the group of figures in the foreground. There is no clear line of perspective, as one would expect perhaps in late renaissance works, but there seem to be four shallow planes: the large foreground, a plane encompassing the cross on the right, another with a castle and trees on the left, and finally a small town in the distance. Distance is indicated mainly by color, with the distant objects fainter and more blue than the nearer ones. There is some inconsistency in the sizes of objects, for example Mary’s hands appear larger than those of Christ or the two men on either side of him, even though all three are located in front of Mary. This shows that the artist only partially reflects new renaissance trends in this respect. The medium of oil on wood allows a rich contrasting color palette to shine forth in striking beauty. The human figures stand out as clearly the focus of the painting, and they take up almost all of the space. In terms of structure, there is nothing particularly novel about the group. The figure of Christ lying with his head to the left, and the mother of Christ holding him in grief has a very long medieval history. Wold et al (1996, pp. 133-135) point out that northern Renaissance painters retain a Gothic-style preference for images of death but also showed a more modern Humanist interest in anatomy and the human body. This is clearly evident in the way that the Christ figure is painted, showing the wound in his side, the trailing arm and most of his body naked. In fact the painting has many realistic features, where details are painted very exactly. The trimmings on the clothes, the jewels, the fine quality container that presumably held the anointing mixture of myrrh and aloes, even the women’s tresses creeping out of their headgear, all point to a fine appreciation of material objects. Most of the lines are curvilinear, sweeping the action of the picture into the area immediately above the reclining body of Christ. The background shapes are all rounded, from the cliffs to the trees, to the round towers of the castles. The only jarring note is the stark upright plank of the cross which sits up on a ledge to the right, which is no doubt intended to add a sobering contrast to the cosy group In the painting. Unlike many other groupings in medieval religious works, where crowds of people often are depicted with more or less identical frozen expressions, this group have each got a different facial expression. John and Mary look down sadly at the dead body. Mary Magdalene and the figure on the left look urgently across to the figure on the right, who in turn seems to be staring blankly in grief, looking at the dead body but thinking of something else. The face of Christ is the only one which is turned fully towards the viewer. Its gentleness, with an expression of mild suffering invites the viewer to contemplate the deeper meaning of his sacrifice. This composition holds the viewer within its curve, asking for an emotional response to complete the circle. Much of the work is to be understood in symbolic ways. For example the blue cloak that Mary wears, the skull lying at the foot of the cross, the long linen cloth, the nails and the crown of thorns are all items from traditional iconography that Christian commentators and preaching clergy would have expounded many time to believers in their books and sermons. Each item has its symbolic references to particular items of Christian belief, for example myrrh was one of the gifts brought to the infant Christ in the manger and it was used with oil to anoint kings. In an age when most people were illiterate, these symbols were used to give fixed points for them to remember aspects of the Church’s doctrine. The images of death and suffering in this picture however, are not horrific, evoking visions of death itself, but rather devotional, evoking thanks and worship to the saviour Christ who has already died for us. There is a little blood, but it is only a trickle, and it does not greatly disfigure the body of Christ. By and large, apart from these traditional symbolic reference points, the picture is pretty realistic. Because of its modest size, the effect of the whole composition is personal, rather than public and bombastic like some of the more famous depictions of the crucifixion in history. The high quality finish, particularly of the human figures makes it decorative and suitable for hanging inside a person’s home. There is no unnecessary clutter of background and the focus is quite simple and intense. No doubt it would have been an ideal reflection piece, used to bring busy burghers out of their daily lives and into a quite spot for contemplation of higher values. The Lamentation of Petrus Christus today retains its freshness of emotional appeal. The skill of the artist in building a network of glances to include the viewer is still effective for a modern audience, as is the clean and smooth composition with its focus on the body of Christ. These timeless aspects of the painting will ensure that it has a permanent place in the art history books. Modern viewers may find the costumes of the Biblical characters somewhat distracting, since we tend not to think of Bible characters having 15th century hats and stockings, but they serve to remind us how religious motifs are adapted and changed through the ages in order to reflect the relevance of these sacred texts for succeeding generations. It is part of the function of art to reflect these social realities, anachronisms and all, and so the painting gives us an insight into the ways in which our cultural heritage developed over time. References Blockmans, W. and Prevenier, W. (1999) The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Christus, P. (circa 1450) The Lamentation [Painting]. Oil on wood. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retreived on 16th August 3010 from: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/91.26.12 Harbison, C. (1995) The Mirror of the Artist: Northern Renaissance Art in its Historical Context. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Lawrence King. Holy Bible. (1600 and many reprints) King James Version. Meagher, J. (2008) Based on original work by Maryan W. Ainsworth. "Petrus Christus (active by 1444, died 1475/76)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, from: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/petr/hd_petr.htm Wold, M., Martin, G., Miller, J., and Cykler, E. (1996) Music and Art in the Western World. Tenth Edition. Dubuque IA: Brown and Benchmark. Read More