Lamentation over the Dead Christ

The Lamentation of Christ is a scene integral to the Christian Religion and provides a powerful inspiration for artists from all manner of artistic movements

The themes of the Deposition of Christ, the Lamentation of Christ and the Entombment of Christ are highly related and can all be found in countless Renaissance artists' careers. The combination of injustice and brutality can also be found in the Massacre of the Innocents.

Raphael's teacher, Pietro Perugino, had already inspired his young student with his own version of The Lamentation of Christ. In tackling this subject, Raphael would produce countless study pieces, far beyond the title displayed here. He was clearly eager to please his master, going to extreme lengths to ensure precision in the final painting.

Both the Uffizi and the Louvre hold some of these other contributions, offering an insight into the preparatory process of Raphael and also the way in which he line of thought developed over time with regards this major artwork.

This common theme for artists is represented by the early fresco of Lamentation by Giotto which remains in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. The likes of Albrecht Dürer, Giovanni Bellini and Peter Paul Rubens have also famously used this story as inspiration for large scale paintings.