Van Dyck, Anthony (1599-1641)
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ
c.1640
Oil on canvas, 115.5 × 207.5 cm
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
Christ’s dead body is laid out across the entrance to a cave, his head resting on Mary’s lap. She is wholly immersed in grief: her arms outspread, her palms open, her face averted. The figures fill the entire panel. The canvas positively radiates drama, in which the horizontal format plays an important role. Van Dyck had to keep the composition low, so he painted the figures closer to the ground and positioned them at the front of the picture plane. All attention is drawn to Christ in the foreground. The harmonious and subdued colours are also striking: a soft ensemble of brown and light-blue tones. (KMSKA)