Tympanum with the Lamentation (Pieta), Masters of 15th Century Burgos School

Artwork Overview

Masters of 15th Century Burgos School, Tympanum with the Lamentation (Pieta)
Masters of 15th Century Burgos School, Tympanum with the Lamentation (Pieta)
Masters of 15th Century Burgos School
Tympanum with the Lamentation (Pieta)
circa 1500–1510
Masters of 15th Century Burgos School, artist
Tympanum with the Lamentation (Pieta), circa 1500–1510
Where object was made: Spain
Material/technique: carving; limestone
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 111 x 205 x 26 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 43 11/16 x 80 11/16 x 10 1/4 in
Weight (Weight): approximately 2100 lbs total for all three parts
Credit line: Museum purchase and partial gift of Edward R. Lubin
Accession number: 1963.0020.a,b,c
On display: Stewart Gallery
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Images

Label texts

This tympanum originally topped the monumental doorway of a Christian monastery in Spain. The evocative scene of grief after the crucifixion of Jesus served to remind the believers who passed below of the reverence expected in a religious space. The current position of the tympanum at ground level allows a different perspective that emphasizes elements of its creation, such as chisel marks, traces of pigment, and differing textural treatments of the stone.

“One day—in 1962 or 63—while poking around New York, I decided to visit Manhattan art dealer Ed Lubin, who often had very nice Medieval and Renaissance sculpture. I arrived unannounced just at the moment when Ed was unpacking some crates. In fact, he had an entire tympanum (a relief sculpture that fits under an arch), which was carved with the Lamentation...Extended chat led to my acquiring the sculpture for the University of Kansas.” – Marilyn Stokstad, Director of the Spencer Museum of Art (1961–1968) and Professor Emerita of the Kress Foundation Department of Art History, University of Kansas

Archive Label:
This large portal sculpture marks a moment of transition from late Gothic to Renaissance styles in Spain. Details of costume and the subject of the Lamentation itself reveal the influence of Flemish and Burgundian artists who arrived in Spain during the Hundred Years War. About 1498, however, Renaissance elements were introduced, such as rounded faces, thin draperies (as in Christ’s loincloth), and the semi-circular shape of the tympanum; these elements suggest a date shortly after the turn of the sixteenth century for this work. It may have come from the ruined Monastery of Santa Maria de la Armedilla near Cogeces del Monte, which was built at that time.

Exhibitions

Intersections
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
2022–2027
Intersections
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
2022–2027

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. One of the most moving subjects in Christian art is the Virgin Mary’s lamentation over the body of her son Jesus after his Crucifixion. From the early medieval period onward in many parts of Europe, sculptures of the “Lamentation” were produced in abundance.This particular imagery sometimes appeared on church portals, which is the case with the Spanish tympanum, or semi-circular, carved stone slab, now displayed above the inner doorway of the Spencer’s central court. It depicts a sorrowful Virgin Mary with the lifeless body of her son resting across her lap. She is flanked by John the Evangelist on the left and Mary Magdalen on the right, while two other mourners appear in the background. The anonymous, early 16th-century sculptor who created this work employed a subtly naturalistic style that emphasized the humanity rather than the divinity of Christ. As worshipers entered the church for which this tympanum was made, they would have gazed upon this Lamentation and been reminded that the Son of God once experienced their own sense of vulnerability when he took human form and was sacrificed for their redemption. With Thanks to Debra Thimmesch for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.

Links

See a photograph of the monastery that may be the original location of this tympanum.