Anthony van Dyck Pietà ca. 1629 oil on canvas Prado |
Van Dyck groups three mourners side by side, defining them as separate blocks of blue and yellow and red. A small child with a box of crayons would color the figures in this same way, a line-up of big contiguous uniform lumps. How does Van Dyck conceal the crudeness of his scheme and persuade the viewer that it is, on the contrary, naturalistic and inevitable and transcendently harmonious?
Alessandro Turchi Lamentation over the Dead Christ ca. 1645-50 oil on touchstone Clark Art institute |
Fra Filippo Lippi St Lawrence Enthroned with Saints & Donors 15th century tempera on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art |
workshop of Rogier van der Weyden Pietà ca. 1450 oil on wood Prado |
Jusepe de Ribera The Trinity ca. 1635 oil on canvas Prado |
Antonio Vivarini St Peter Martyr restoring a severed leg 1450s tempera on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Francisco Ribalta Dead Christ with Angels ca. 1625 oil on canvas Prado |
Michele Parrasio Pope Pius V with the Dead Christ ca. 1572-75 oil on canvas Prado |
Northern French painter Legend of St Anthony Abbot, with a Donor ca. 1450 oil on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Jacob Jordaens Pietà 1650s oil on canvas Prado |
Karel Dujardin St Paul healing the Cripple 1663 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum |
Fernando Gallego Pietà 1465-70 mixed media on wood Prado |
Carlo Crivelli Pietà 1476 tempera on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Daniele Crespi Pietà 1623-24 oil on canvas Prado |