Description
The Lamentation in the Scrovegni Chapel is one of Giotto's most celebrated works and a landmark of European Trecento painting. Christ's dead body lies in the foreground, supported by the Virgin, while Saint John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and the holy women gather around him. Above, angels express grief through violent and desperate gestures, extending the emotional shock of the earthly scene into the celestial realm.
The relationship between Mary and Christ forms the emotional core. The Virgin supports her son's head and torso and brings her face close to his, concentrating the deepest sorrow in an intimate exchange of gazes. Giotto avoids theatrical exaggeration: Mary's grief is profound, restrained and bodily, which makes it especially convincing. Mary Magdalene, placed at Christ's feet, mourns from another position and helps create a range of distinct emotional responses.
