Lamentation over Dead Christ – Palazzo Pitti – Florence

The Lamentation over Dead Christ in 1509 was mentioned at the church of Santa Chiara in Florence, placed above the second altar on the right; after Napoleonic dispossessions, it was transferred to Paris and, when it was finally brought back from France, it became part of the Galleria di Palazzo Pitti collection.

The painting shows the moment after the deposition from the cross. Christ’s dead body lays on a white cloth, his limbs are not yet stiffened by death, while many figures surround him and mourn the passing: Saint Joseph of Arimathea is kneeling behind him and supporting his shoulders, while a sweet Magdalene holds his head; the Virgin, next to her, holds her son’s lifeless arm in her hands.

Mary of Salome, on the lower right, holds the edges of the shroud and, on the upper left, Saint John the Baptist, Mary of Cleofe, a young woman, Nicodemus holding the nails, an old man hooded and a beautiful young man. This work is listed among Perugino’s masterpieces; the choice of subjects, the composition and the use of colors indicate a strong suggestion deriving from the Venetian area, following Perugino’s journey of 1494, the year before the execution of this painting.

The painting is preserved at Palazzo Pitti.