{"id":309284,"date":"2019-07-19T10:09:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T08:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progettocultura.intesasanpaolo.com\/mostre\/compianto-sul-cristo-morto-di-sandro-botticelli\/"},"modified":"2020-09-29T16:12:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T14:12:09","slug":"botticelli-lamentation-over-the-dead-christ","status":"publish","type":"exhibition","link":"https:\/\/progettocultura.intesasanpaolo.com\/en\/exhibitions\/botticelli-lamentation-over-the-dead-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Botticelli: \u201cLamentation over the Dead Christ\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following Antonello da Messina\u2019s Portrait of a Man <\/em>from Turin,\u00a0Pablo Picasso\u2019s Harlequin with a mirror from Madrid,\u00a0<\/a>Caravaggio\u2019s Musicians from New York<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s Head of a woman from Parma<\/a>, the Gallerie d\u2019Italia in Naples will be hosting Sandro Botticelli\u2019s Lamentation over the Dead Christ<\/strong> thanks to an exceptional loan from the\u00a0Poldi Pezzoli Museum.<\/a><\/p>\n

The arrival of the masterpiece from Milan marks the ninth edition of L\u2019Ospite illustre<\/em> event, which displays a major artwork on temporary loan from prestigious Italian and foreign museums at Intesa Sanpaolo\u2019s venues for art, culture and beauty – the Gallerie d\u2019Italia and the 36th<\/sup> floor of the\u00a0Turin skyscraper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A movingly expressive painting<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lamentation over the Dead Christ<\/em> portrays the extraordinarily moving moment when Jesus\u2019 body, having been taken down from the cross on Calvary, is about to be laid in the tomb: in the foreground, his lifeless body is cradled by his mother, who, overcome with grief, has fainted and is supported by Saint John the Evangelist, as Mary Magdalene lovingly embraces his wounded feet. Joseph appears at the top of the pyramid composition, revealing to the sky the Instruments of the Passion: the crown of thorns and three nails taken from the cross and Jesus\u2019 body.<\/p>\n

Dating back to the early sixteenth century, the painting is an example of Botticelli\u2019s later work<\/strong>; it was rediscovered by Giorgio Vasari on an altar in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence in 1568. It was purchased in 1879 by Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli, the aristocratic collector who founded the Milan house-museum.<\/p>\n

Juxtaposed with Botticelli\u2019s Lamentation <\/em>is another work depicting the drama of Christ\u2019s death and burial, kept in the\u00a0Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples<\/a>: the painting in question is Christ carried to the Tomb <\/em><\/strong>(1508-1510 circa) by Pedro Fern\u00e1ndez<\/strong>. Despite working in a different genre of figurative art, Fern\u00e1ndez still achieves, through the sense of agitation in the shapes and the sorrow borne by the figures, an intensity which resembles that achieved by the Florentine master.<\/p>\n

A unique comparison between two important Renaissance artworks is thus forged at the Gallerie d\u2019Italia, proving again that the exhibition is always an opportunity to explore and reflect on Italian art.<\/p>\n

An ever stronger relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Poldi Pezzoli Museum and the Gallerie d\u2019Italia have been collaborating for several years now: the Milan-based museum-house has taken part in every edition of Intesa Sanpaolo\u2019s \u00a0Restituzioni<\/a>\u00a0project since 2000.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade the two museums have worked side-by-side to curate two stunning exhibitions, drawing on their physical proximity and common mission:<\/p>\n