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New Testament subjects

New Testament subjects

MARCANTONIO RAIMONDI (C. 1480-1534)

The lamentation over Christ's body: the 'Borghese Entombment'

c.1515-1516

Engraving | 21.1 x 16.7 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 850276

An engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi depicting the lamentation over Christ's body. Annotated on the verso. Trimmed within the platemark.

The model for this engraving has been identified as a drawing by Raphael now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (inv. no. WA1846.170) which reflects Raphael's preliminary idea (then rejected) for the 'Borghese Entombment', a painting executed by Raphael (1507) now in the Galleria Borghese, Rome (inv.no. 170). See RCIN 850271 for a photograph of the drawing. Shoemaker (see Bibliographic References) noted that the landscape depicted in this print is reminiscent of those by Lucas van Leyden, in particular that in 'Boy with a trumpet'.

The so-called 'Borghese Entombment' used to be the central panel of an altarpiece ('Baglioni Altarpiece') executed by Raphael for the church of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia and commissioned by Atalanta Baglioni to commemorate the death of her son Grifonetto, who was murdered in 1500. Raphael is documented in Perugia in 1505, when scholars believe that Raphael received the commission, and the majority of his preparatory drawings are dated c.1506-1507.

A considerable number of sketches and studies by Raphael for this composition are known and they reflect the different phases towards the definition of the pictorial programme. The scene depicted in the painting is the moment in which Christ's body is carried to the grave, with the separate group of the three Marys supporting the Virgin to the right. The more conventional iconographies of the Entombment and the Lamentation over Christ's body have here been transformed by Raphael into a more narrative painting.

By order of the nephew of Pope Paul V, Scipione Borghese, in 1608 the painting was removed from its original location and housed in the Borghese collection in Rome, where it remained until 1797 when it was confiscated by Napoleon and taken to Paris. In 1815 it was returned to the Galleria Borghese.

  • Creator(s)

    Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1480-1534) (engraver)

    After Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520) (artist)

  • 21.1 x 16.7 cm (sheet of paper)

  • Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76) 

  • Subject(s)
    • Religion & Theology
      • Religions and faiths
        • Christianity
          • Life of Christ
            • Passion of Christ
              • Christ-Lamentation (Madonna & Others)
              • Entombment of Christ
    • Places
      • Asia
        • Israel
          • Jerusalem
            • Golgotha
      • Europe
        • Italy
          • Lazio [Italy]
            • Rome [Lazio]
              • Palazzo Borghese [Rome]
    • Arts, Recreation, Entertainment & Sport
      • Architecture
        • Ecclesiastical & religious architecture
          • Funerary architecture
            • Tombs
      • Music
        • Religious music
          • Liturgical music
            • Psalms. Psalters. Lamentations
  • Bibliographic reference(s)

    pp. 128-129, no. 36 (Shoemaker/Broun 1981 : I. Shoemaker and E. Broun. The Engravings of Marcantonio Raimondi 1981 : Spencer Museum of Art; The Ackland Art Museum, 1981)
    p. 168, no. III.1 (entry written by Stefania Massari) (Raphael Invenit 1985 : Bernini Pezzini, G. et al., 1985. Raphael Invenit. Stampe di Raffaello nelle Collezioni dell'Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Rome)
    p.163, no. 127 (Joannides 1983 : Joannides, P., 1983. The Drawings of Raphael, with a complete catalogue, Oxford)
    pp. 233-246, no. 30 (Capellen 2001 : Capellen, JM, 2001. Raphael : the paintings. Volume 1, The Beginning in Umbria and Florence ca.1500-1508 )
    pp. 37-47 (Jones/Penny 1983 : Jones, R. and Penny, N. Raphael, 1983)