Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Andrea Mantegna (Interpretation and Analysis)

Lamentation over the Dead Christ
Source: Pinacoteca di Brera

While the Renaissance is probably the most famous artistic movement in the Western world, it’s far from my favorite. I tend to prefer stranger, more dramatic art, whereas the art of the Renaissance tends to exude an air of calm, unemotional serenity.

Lamentation over the Dead Christ, however, is different. Although the painting dates to the Renaissance period, it doesn’t really look like a typical piece of Renaissance art.

First of all, it is quite an emotional painting (which, as I noted above, is not typical for the Renaissance period). The extreme foreshortening of Christ’s body is designed for maximum visual impact. Christ’s evident deadness contributes to this phenomenon. It is very obvious that the artist Andrea Mantegna based his depiction of Christ on first hand observation. He depicts rigor mortis, the grayish tint of the skin, and the strangely bloodless wounds with an almost frightening degree of accuracy. It’s a rather disturbing painting, but that’s the point. Mantegna intentionally seeks to highlight Christ’s corporealness to evoke an emotional reaction from the viewer.

The mourners (located in the top left hand corner) are another unique feature of the painting. Both figures weep openly, a highly unusual feature for a painting of this time. Their emotional anguish is obvious, and it is a testament to Mantegna’s skill that he is able to convey their grief so vividly. The mourners are elderly, their faces etched with deep wrinkles. This is another unusual detail. The Renaissance movement focused on the portrayal of the ideal human body, and thus tended not to depict physical infirmity or old age.

Although all of this is true, the Pinacoteca di Brera (which owns the painting) argues that Lamentation over the Dead Christ is very much a painting of the Renaissance. Its description of the piece notes that it is “a work whose expressive force, severe composure and masterly handling of the illusion of perspective have made it one of the best-known symbols of the Italian Renaissance.”

The truth is that both interpretations are true. It is a painting that is both ahead of and of its time. Mantegna’s work shows use of Renaissance ideas, such as attention to the human form and obsession with perspective and three dimensional space. While he makes use of these artistic “rules,” Mantegna chose to use them in an atypical way, carving out a unique artistic space within the Renaissance movement.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.