LAMENT AND MOURNING – THE ENTOMBMENT OF CHRIST
Dirck van Baburen, The Entombment of Christ, 1617/18, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
By Alte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Alte Pinakothek, Bavarian State Painting Collections
The Entombment of Christ (1617/1618) by Dirck van BaburenCentraal Museum
For his client Pietro Cussida, Dirck van Baburen created an exact replica of an altarpiece he made recently for the Pietà Chapel in the church of San Pietro in Montorio, identical in scale and execution. It was intended for Cussida’s private art collection in Zaragoza.
The hands and feet of the lifeless Christ are grey and dirty. Baburen is clearly rigorous in capturing Caravaggio’s naturalism, and takes it to an extreme.
Christ’s middle finger points to the tools of the Passion that protrude from a fallen basket: the crown of thorns, hammer, and nails reference his crucifixion and are meant to intensify the sympathy for his martyrdom and suffering.
Museum Views - Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe by Haydar KoyupinarAlte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Baburen’s "The Entombment of Christ" is based on Caravaggio’s famous work of the same name, which at the time was on view to the public in the Chiesa Nuova and can now be seen in the Vatican Museums.
Museum Views - Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe by Haydar KoyupinarAlte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
As in Caravaggio’s work, Baburen combines the burial, carried out by Nicodemus and John, with the Lamentation of the Three Marys, all mourning in slightly different ways. However, Baburen alters the composition and interprets the scene in his own way.
The contents were created in connection with the exhibition "Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe" at the Alte Pinakothek München. Click here to discover the world of the Caravaggisti.
