Giulio Romano, Rome 1499 - 1546 Mantua, Circle of, Lamentation of Christ in the Medallion

The Lamentation of Christ is depicted in a central medallion supported by a putto, around which the four evangelists are arranged in the spandrels. The central scene shows the body of Jesus removed from the cross, lying in the lap of his mother, who is praying with folded hands over his head. His body takes up the round shape of the frame in a bend, and his legs are being wrapped in a cloth by a woman with long hair, probably Mary Magdalene. She is additionally holding Jesus' left arm, which is draped over his mother's knee. The dark background of a cave on the left opens the view of a landscape in the right half of the picture. Views of a distant landscape can also be seen in the horizontal central axis of the figurative frame. The evangelists seem to be resting on a kind of architectural construction above or underneath the medallion. They are holding a scroll, book, or tablet as well as a writing utensil and seem to be writing down this episode of the Gospels. On the top, John and Matthew are seated in a symmetrical pose and have their gaze raised to their respective evangelist symbols - eagle and man. Luke and Mark, arranged underneath, have turned more introspectively to their writing activity. Their animal attributes - bull and lion - are depicted in shadow. Overall, the depiction animated by the authors conveys an interesting contrast as well as a kind of self-reflexivity to the central Passion scene.

The painting can be attributed to the circle of Giulio Romano, who is considered an important Old Master of the Cinquecento. He studied in Raphael's workshop and even became the master's right-hand man, but later turned to Mannerism and worked in Mantua for its art-loving dukes. He is particularly known for his trompe-l'oeil frescoes in the Palazzo del Te (1525-35). These feature similar pyramidal arrangements of figural groups inspired by Raphael, as well as a comparable compositional structure with views into the distance and with reclining figures. Furthermore, Giulio Romano’s mannerist elongated figural style and the chiaroscuro with vivid colour accents are particularly striking, which become apparent in the medallions and lunettes. It is possible that the work presented here is a model for such a ceiling fresco.   

Bibliography:

Bette Talvacchia, "Giulio Romano." Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online 2023. 

Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Artists (English translation), Oxford 1991, 359-376.