Lamentation of Christ — Niccolò dell’Arca

A look at one of the greatest masterpieces made in terracotta.

Detail of ‘Lamentation of Christ’ (1463–1490) by Niccolò dell’Arca. Terracotta. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vita, Bologna. Credit: Wikipedia

Art is a human expression; as such, it always seeks to stir the interior of whoever is observing a work.

Sometimes it succeeds. Sometimes it does not.

But when it succeeds, it has an impact at levels that only the viewer himself can know. This is the case of the Lamentation of Christ, conjunction of terracotta sculptures of an astonishing expressiveness for the time in which they were created and whose faces are still a source of significant impact today.

Today it is unknown what their original arrangement was, and now they are arranged in a composition that gives meaning to the work’s title. In each figure, traces of polychrome can still be seen on the surface.

‘Lamentation of Christ’ (1463–1490) by Niccolò dell’Arca. Terracotta. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vita, Bologna. Image source Wikpedia.

From right to left, we can see:

• Mary Magdalene
• Mary of Cleophas
• St. John
• Virgin Mary
• Salome
• Joseph of Arimathea