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The Lamentation (Christ at the Tomb)
Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863)
1848
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
162.6 x 132.1 cm (64 x 52 in.)
Credit Line
Gift by contribution in memory of Martin Brimmer
Accession Number96.21
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Delacroix painted some of the 19th century’s most affecting religious pictures. In this scene, the Virgin Mary (left), Saint John (foreground), and four other mourners gather around the body of Christ. Three crosses loom against a threatening sky on the distant horizon of Mount Golgotha, which offsets the livid color of the corpse, the stark white burial shroud, and John’s crimson cloak. The emotional intensity, expressive brushwork, and resonant color of Delacroix's work had a profound influence on later painters. Delacroix described his own later reaction to this painting in his journal: “It inspires an emotion that astonishes even me. You can’t pull yourself away...”
InscriptionsSigned and dated: Eug. Delacroix 1848
Provenance1848, exhibited by the artist at the Salon (no. 1157) and sold to Théodore de Geloës (b. 1816 - d. 1893), Paris [see note 1]; 1870, sold by Geloës [see note 2]. 1873, Jean-Baptiste Faure (b. 1830 - d. 1914), Paris; June 7, 1873, Faure sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 7, sold for 60,000 fr. to Durand-Ruel, Paris (stock no. 3074). June 29, 1875, deposited by Charles Edwards, Paris, with Durand-Ruel (deposit no. D20044); June 16, 1877, delivered by Durand-Ruel to the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris [see note 3]. 1880, Étienne Martin, Baron de Beurnonville (b. 1825 - d. 1906), Paris; April 29, 1880, Beurnonville sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 11, sold for 34,000 fr. to Hector Brame (dealer; b. 1831 - d. 1899), Paris [see note 4]. 1894, Adolphe-Eugène Tavernier (b. 1853 - d. 1945), Paris; June 11, 1894, Tavernier sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, lot 5, sold for 88,000 fr. to Durand-Ruel, Paris; February 12, 1896, sold by Durand-Ruel, Paris to Durand-Ruel, New York (stock no. 1552); 1896, sold by Durand-Ruel to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 3,1896)
NOTES:
[1] Delacroix began the work in 1847. On April 28, 1847 the Comte de Geloës agreed to purchase it for 2,000 fr. See Lee Johnson, The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford, 1986), pp. 221-223, cat. no. 434. Though his residence was at the Château d'Osen, near Roermond, the Netherlands, Geloës apparently kept the painting in Paris; he lent it to the Exposition Universelle in 1855.
[2] According to the Faure sale catalogue, the comte de Geloës owned the painting until 1870.
[3] Details about Durand-Ruel's handling of the painting are taken from a letter from Charles Durand-Ruel to the MFA (December 18, 1973). M. Edwards of 51, Rue Saint-Georges, who deposited the painting in 1875, was almost certainly Charles Edwards, a banker and financial backer of the Durand-Ruel gallery. Edwards offered capital to the gallery in exchange for paintings.
[4] According to Johnson 1986 (as above, n. 1).
NOTES:
[1] Delacroix began the work in 1847. On April 28, 1847 the Comte de Geloës agreed to purchase it for 2,000 fr. See Lee Johnson, The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue, vol. 3 (Oxford, 1986), pp. 221-223, cat. no. 434. Though his residence was at the Château d'Osen, near Roermond, the Netherlands, Geloës apparently kept the painting in Paris; he lent it to the Exposition Universelle in 1855.
[2] According to the Faure sale catalogue, the comte de Geloës owned the painting until 1870.
[3] Details about Durand-Ruel's handling of the painting are taken from a letter from Charles Durand-Ruel to the MFA (December 18, 1973). M. Edwards of 51, Rue Saint-Georges, who deposited the painting in 1875, was almost certainly Charles Edwards, a banker and financial backer of the Durand-Ruel gallery. Edwards offered capital to the gallery in exchange for paintings.
[4] According to Johnson 1986 (as above, n. 1).