Divided into three distinct scenes, this composition focuses on the events following Christ’s Crucifixion. At center, a large group of followers mourns over his slumped, dead body. Christ’s tomb is prepared for his burial at left, and the bodies of the two thieves who were crucified alongside him are carried away at upper right. The drawing typifies Polidoro’s work in pen and ink, featuring reduced forms composed of agitated strokes and rapid hatching.
Polidoro Caldara, called Polidoro da Caravaggio
Italian, ca. 1499–ca. 1543
The Lamentation of Christ, ca. 1527–35
Pen and brown ink, with splatters of green, gray, and pink paint, and touches of white opaque watercolor
The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray; 2019.837
Gray Collection Trust, Art Institute of Chicago
Photography by Art Institute of Chicago Imaging Department