Pietà

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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According to the Meditations on the Life of Christ and other texts, the weeping Virgin Mary embraced Christ’s body when he was taken down from the Cross. This subject is usually referred to as the pietà. On the left is Saint Jerome with the lion that was his companion. On the right, a saint wearing the black and white robes of the Dominican Order could be Dominic, but he has no identifying emblem. The donor wears a black garment trimmed with brown fur. The object behind his head is a purple hat, and he wear pattens (wooden overshoes). He is possibly Girolamo Vento, a Genoese merchant living in Bruges in 1469–70. The figures of the Virgin and Christ are simplified adaptations from the centre panel of the Miraflores Triptych (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin) with other figures added around them.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Pietà

Date

probably about 1465

Medium

Oil with egg tempera on oak

Measurements

H 35.5 x W 45 cm

Accession number

NG6265

Acquisition method

Acquired from the Earl of Powis under the terms of the Finance Act, 1956

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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