Title
Lamentation
Generic classification
SculptureObject
SculptureDate
ca. 1530Century
Second quarter of the 16th c.Cultural context / style
RenaissanceDimensions
31 1/2 x 29 7/8 inMaterial
WoodIconography / Theme
Lamentación sobre Cristo muertoProvenance
Possible origin in the province of Burgos (Burgos, Spain)Current location
The Hispanic Society of America (New York, United States)Inventory Number in Current Collection
D14Object history
This sculpture was probably part of an altarpiece. Proske (1951) attributed the piece to a follower of Philip Bigarny because of the similarities it had with the Burgundian sculptor, such as Mary Magdalene's veil or the combination of colors. However, Elizabeth Valdez and Constancio del Álamo stated inGothic Sculpture in America: The Museums of New York and Pennsylvania (2016) that the piece "can be compared fruitfully to that of other carves in Burgos, particularly Gil de Siloe and his son, Diego de Siloe, with whom Bigarny worked." Likewise, both argue that this Lamentation bears a strong resemblance to other sculptures found in the Capilla del Condestable in Burgos. On the other hand, it shares stylistic features with a sculpture made between 1500-1505 for the tomb of Juan de Padilla in the Monastery of Nuestra Señora de Fresdelval. Thus, everything points to the fact that this work came from Burgos.
We do not know when the piece left its original location, but it ended up at the end of the 19th century in the collection of Adolphe Singher. In 1910, after his death, his private collection was dispersed and sold at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris between May 20-23, 1912. This Lamentation is described in the catalog (no. 255) of the auction as follows: "Grand groupe d'applique en bois sculpté peint et doré à huit personagges, représentant le Christ mort étendu sur les genoux de la Vierge. Travail espagnol de la fin du XVe siècle". The work was acquired by the Hispanic Society of America and arrived at the museum on August 2, 1912, where it is kept today.
Description
This sculpture represents the Lamentation of Christ, an episode that took place after the Crucifixion. Mary is seated on the ground and holds the inert body of her son. At her side are St. John, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and two women. All of them wear rich golden vestments decorated with estofado.
On top of the polychrome of the piece a varnish was applied to give it an older appearance, probably at the end of the 19th century. Between 1962-1963 it was cleaned and irregularities such as scratches and dirt were corrected.
Locations
XVIth c. - XIXth c.
XIXth c. - ca. 1910
private collection
Adolphe Singher, Le Mans (France) *
ca. 1910 - 1912
auction house
Hotel Drouot, Paris (France)
ca. 1912 - present
Bibliography
- GILMAN PROSKE, Beatrice I. (1951): Castilian Sculpture. Gothic to Renaissance, The Hispanic Society of America, New York, pp. 270-271.
- HOLLADAY, Joan y WARD, Susan (eds.) (2016): Gothic Sculpture in America: The Museums of New York and Pennsylvania, vol. III, International Center of Medieval Art, Nueva York, pp. 139-143.
- LEMAN, Henri (1912): Catalogue des objets d'art et de haute curiosité du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance... composant la collection de Feu Monsieur Adolph Singher, Hotel Drouot, París, p. 36.
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/384
