3-080-625 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Lamentation over the Dead Christ, 1835. A distant, ethereal vision of Jerusalem creates a Middle Eastern setting for this scene from Christ's Passion but the landscape is utterly Italian in inspiration and, following Renaissance precedents, it may have a symbolic meaning. The hill of Calvary associated with Christ's death is located on the right, in the earthly realm represented by the city. On the opposite side a palm tree stands in isolation, a symbol of the resurrection and of Christ's victory over death.