{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O170626"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O170626/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK5989/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK5989/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BK5989","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BK5988","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB5086","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O170626/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O170626","accessionNumber":"409:1 to :5-1889","objectType":"Group","titles":[{"title":"Lamentation over the Dead Christ with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene; a Pieta.","type":""}],"summaryDescription":"The Virgin and St John the Evangelist support the Dead Christ, whose body is turned towards the viewer to display his wounds. The Virgin and Mary Magdalene gaze down sorrowfully upon Christ. St John looks out at the viewer. This two-thirds life size Lamentation group is composed of five separately fired sections of terracotta. The Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and St John were each modelled and fired in one piece. Christ was divided into two halves in order to fit in the kiln; the join is in the middle fold of the loincloth. The hands of St John and the Virgin are attached to the upper half of Christ’s body, with the joins cleverly disguised by the sleeves of their robes. \n\r\nUpon acquisition, the sculpture was described as having been 'formerly in a private chapel in Siena.' Though we do not know its original location, the group was certainly designed to be viewed from the front. The unfinished backs of the figures, with large holes and tool marks, reveal the artist’s method of hollowing out the figures to even the clay walls to 2-3 cm thick. Large-scale terracotta works in Renaissance Italy often employed this technique to mitigate potential damage in the kiln. Finer details are modelled directly onto the figures.\r\n\nThe group is polychromed with ceramic tin glazes and paint. Ceramic glazes were used for the base, Christ’s loincloth, the Virgin’s cloak, belt, and head covering (coif), the robe of St John’s robe, and the lining of his cloak. All other areas were painted. \n\r\nThe Della Robbia and contemporary sculptors working in glazed terracotta were unable to develop red ceramic glazes, meaning red garments and Christ’s blood could be coloured only through the application of paint. Pigment analysis by conservation scientist Jo Darrah in 1989 revealed that the realistic flesh tones were achieved by mixing various quantities of yellow (ochre and tin), red (vermillion, red lake, crimson glaze, and red ochre), lead white, carbon black, and azurite. The area around Christ’s rib wound was painted with a distinct mixture of pigments – including more yellow ochre, azurite, and red pigments – to give the impression of bruised, dead flesh. Oil was likely used as a binding medium to slow the drying time, allowing the paint to be blended and giving a sense of naturalism. Drops of blood were then painted in crimson. The hair was primarily painted with yellow ochre mixed with varying quantities of other pigments. \n\r\nPainted sections were retouched at unknown dates. Overpaint was removed during a conservation treatment carried out in 1976-7, and the group was further conserved in 1989-90.\n\nThe figure of Mary Magdalene was broken into about 30 pieces at some point in its history. The sculpture may have shattered in the kiln due to trapped air in the clay expanding, or it may have broken at some point after it was fired. The pieces were disassembled and reglued by Brodrick during conservation. Traces of metal leaf, possibly silver, were found on Mary Magdalene’s ointment jar.\n\r\nThe mixed-media polychromy, choice of colour for the garments, and style of this group is seen in other figures and Lamentation groups attributed to Andrea della Robbia or his workshop. Of notable comparison are the figures of the Virgin and Dead Christ in a Pietà group at the musée Anne-de-Beaujeu, Moulins-sul-Allier, attributed to Andrea della Robbia. \n\r\nThe attribution of the Lamentation group has been debated. The group was ascribed to the workshop of Giovanni della Robbia when it entered the collection. Pope-Hennessy subsequently suggested the quality was inferior for a Della Robbia work, instead suggesting similarities with terracotta groups at the Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo, particularly <i>The Virgin Tended by the Holy Women</i>.\n\r\nThe group was attributed the group to Cozzarelli or Giovanni Gonelli (a.k.a. Cieco da Gambassi) in some scholarship from the first half of the twentieth century, though at this time it was also suggested to be by a follower of the Della Robbia workshop. More recent scholarship by Gentilini and Motture and Hubbard convincingly assigns the group to the workshop of Andrea della Robbia, with Gentilini suggesting it could have been modelled by Andrea’s son, Luca ‘the younger’. \n\nLast updated: 24/07/2025","physicalDescription":"“In the centre foreground is the semi-recumbent figure of the Dead Christ, supported by the Virgin, who kneels behind, supporting his head with her right hand and holding his arm with her left. To the right kneels [Mary Magdalene], with her right hand on her breast and a jar of unguent in her left. To the left is St. John the Evangelist, with the head turned to the spectator, supporting the right shoulder of Christ. The whole group rests on a shallow base glazed in dull green.” (Pope-Hennessy, 254)","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Robbia, Andrea della","id":"A2357"},"association":{"text":"workshop of","id":"x28708"},"note":"workshop of"}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"terracotta","id":"AAT10669"},{"text":"","id":""}],"techniques":[{"text":"tin glazing","id":"x36216"},{"text":"painted","id":"x30138"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Polychrome terracotta","categories":[{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2006BK5989","2006BK5988","2017KB5086"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"26 (VA)","id":"THES49836"},"free":"","case":"PL001","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"26 (VA)","id":"THES49836"},"free":"","case":"PL001","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"26 (VA)","id":"THES49836"},"free":"","case":"PL001","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"26 (VA)","id":"THES49836"},"free":"","case":"PL001","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"26 (VA)","id":"THES49836"},"free":"","case":"PL001","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Figure","id":"x42725"}],[{"text":"Figure","id":"x43345"}],[{"text":"Figure","id":"x31047"}],[{"text":"Figure","id":"x42725"}],[{"text":"Figure","id":"x31047"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Tuscany","id":"x29374"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Florence","id":"x28848"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1510-1515","earliest":"1505-01-01","latest":"1515-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Depth","value":"67","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"152","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"87","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Purchased in Siena in 1889 from Signor Lombardi for £474 13s 9d.","historicalContext":"Large scale terracotta groups were a popular type of devotional sculpture in Central and Northern Italy during the Renaissance. They were often placed in chapels or at Sacri Monti pilgrimage sites. \r\n\r\nThis Lamentation group was housed in a Sienese private chapel prior to entering the collection. However, the group was likely made in Florence, where Andrea della Robbia’s workshop was based, and sent to Siena. The unfinished backs of the figures suggest the group was made for a niche or altar within a chapel, where it would have been viewed only from the front.\n\r\nLarge terracotta scenes were made of several pieces. Figures could be modelled into a block of clay then hollowed out to create even-thickness walls. Alternatively, a coiling technique was also frequently used. Coils of even thickness were built up and joined. Both techniques facilitated even drying in the kiln, preventing cracking and uneven shrinkage.\n\r\nTerracotta sculptures were often mixed media, decorated with glaze, paint, and gilding. While the Della Robbia workshop is well known for its sculptures covered with opaque ceramic glazes, the workshop was also active in the production of terracotta sculptures that were not glazed but rather painted. From about the 1490s, Andrea della Robbia introduced the practice of partial glazing, as seen here.","briefDescription":"Group, terracotta, Lamentation over the Dead Christ.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Fisher, Wendy. ‘Terracotta.’ In <i>The Making of Sculpture: <i>The</i></i><i>materials and techniques of European Sculpture,</i> edited by Marjorie Trusted, pp. 35-74. London: V&A Publications, 2007. See p. 41, pl. 63-6."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hubbard, Charlotte and Peta Motture. 'The Making of Terracotta Sculpture: Techniques and Observations.' In <i>Earth and Fire: Italian Terracotta Sculpture from Donatello to Canova</i>, edited by Bruce Boucher, pp. 83-99. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001. See pp. 91-3, figs. 105-7."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Gentilini, Giancarlo.<i> I Della Robbia: La Scultura Invetriata Del Rinascimento</i>. Florence: Cantini, 1992. See p. 260."},{"reference":{"text":"Pope-Hennessy, John. <i>Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum</i>, 3 vols, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1964.","id":"AUTH332986"},"details":"See vol. 1, pp. 254-5.","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Maclagan, Eric and Margaret H. Longhurst. <i>Catalogue of Italian Sculpture.</i> London: V&A, 1932. See p.83."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<i>List of objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum, acquired during the year 1889: Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices.</i> London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1890. See p. 42."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Jesus Christ","id":"N1515"},{"text":"Virgin Mary","id":"N480"},{"text":"Mary Magdalen (Magdalene)","id":"N482"},{"text":"St John the Evangelist","id":"N935"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"The Lamentation over the Dead Christ\r\nAbout 1510–15\r\nWorkshop of Andrea della Robbia\r\n(1435–1525)\r\nLarge-scale groups in various materials were used as focal\r\npoints for devotion in chapels and churches throughout\r\nEurope. Terracotta was particularly popular in Tuscany\r\nand around Bologna.\r\nTerracotta groups on this scale were difficult to make.\r\nThe figures here were each constructed separately.\r\nMary Magdalene, on the right, is now in several pieces\r\nand probably shattered during the first (or biscuit) firing.\r\nThis prevented a second firing to secure the glazes, so\r\ninstead the figure was painted.\r\nItaly, Florence\r\nGlazed and painted terracotta\r\nMuseum no. 409-1889","date":{"text":"26/11/2010","earliest":"2010-11-26","latest":"2010-11-26"}}],"partNumbers":["409:5-1889","409:4-1889","409:3-1889","409:2-1889","409:1-1889"],"accessionNumberNum":"409","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1889,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Group [1]","Group [2]","Group [3]","Group [4]","Group [5]"],"assets":["2019LN9055","2019LN8897","2019LU2344","2019LW3980","2023NN3575","2023NN3576","2023NP0419","2023NR0274"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-10-30","recordCreationDate":"2008-10-27","availableToBook":false}}