Title
Lamentation
Vahía, Alejo de (Active in Castile: 1487-1510)
Generic classification
SculptureObject
SculptureDate
ca. 1490-1510Century
Late 15th c.Cultural context / style
Late GothicDimensions
41 x 37 x 10 1/2 inMaterial
WoodIconography / Theme
Lamentación sobre Cristo muertoProvenance
Possibly from the province of Palencia (Palencia, Spain)Current location
Meadows Museum (Dallas, Texas, United States)Inventory Number in Current Collection
MM.89.02Object history
Originally this sculptural group was ascribed to East Germany and was dated around 1500 (Boccador, 1974). According to this author (1974), "the morphology of the visages evokes these works from East Germany". However, given the characteristics of the set, Yarza (1982) considered it to be by Alejo de Vahía. This artist worked mainly in the current provinces of Palencia and Valladolid, therefore, the piece came from that environment.
It is unknown when it left Spain, but in the mid-twentieth century it was in the collection of Édouard Bresset (Boccador, 1974; Yarza, 1982). This antiquarian opened an art gallery in Paris in 1927 and specialized in medieval art. Subsequently the set was in the hands of Edward R. Lubin, an antique dealer based in Manhattan. In 1982 the piece was still in Bresset's hands, so it must have been in the late 1980s that the work changed hands. The set was acquired in 1989 by the Meadows Museum, where it remains today.
Description
This gilded and polychrome wood (walnut) sculpture represents the scene of the Weeping over the dead Christ. In the center of the composition the Virgin holds the inert body of her son. To her left, the apostle St. John holds his arm, while Mary Magdalene, on the right, holds his legs. The scene is completed by Mary, mother of James, an unidentified figure, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Although the figures present a certain rigidity in their posture, their faces convey a deep sadness.
Locations
XVth c. - Mid XXth c.
Mid XXth c. - ca. 1985
dealer/antiquarian
Édouard Bresset, Paris (France) *
ca. 1985 - ca. 1989
dealer/antiquarian
Edward R. Lubin, New York (United States) *
ca. 1989 - present
Bibliography
- ARA GIL, Clementina Julia (1974): En torno al escultor Alejo de Vahía (1490-1510), Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid.
- BOCCADOR, Jacqueline (1974): Statuaire médiévale en France de 1400 à 1530, vol. II, Les Clefs du Temps, Zoug, pp. 238-239.
- BOCCADOR, Jacqueline y BRESSET, Edouard (1972): Statuaire médiévale de collection, vol. II, Les clefs du temps.
- WATTENBERG, Federico (1964): Exposición de la obra del Maestro de Santa Cruz de Valladolid, Diputación Provincial de Valladolid, Valladolid, p. 39.
- YARZA LUACES, Joaquín (1982): Alejo de Vahía y su escuela: nuevas obras, s.l., Madrid, pp. 47-48.
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Lamentation" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/316
