Lamentation, from Passion of Christ
1575/1600
Medium
Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 16 × 11.5 cm (6 5/16 × 4 9/16 in.); Sheet: 17 × 12.2 cm (6 3/4 × 4 13/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
93102
Art Historical Context
This engraving by Jan Sadeler I captures Lamentation, a poignant scene from the Passion of Christ in which mourners gather around the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion. Created between 1575 and 1600, the work belongs to a larger series illustrating key moments in Christ’s final days. Its intimate scale—measuring just 16 by 11.5 centimeters—invites close viewing, allowing the fine lines and expressive figures to convey deep emotion and narrative detail. As an engraving printed in black ink on cream laid paper, the piece highlights the medium’s remarkable capacity for precision and reproducib...
About the Artist
Jan Sadeler, I · 1550–1600
Jan Sadeler I (1550–1600) was born in Brussels and became the most prominent member of the largest and most successful dynasty of Flemish printmakers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Sadeler family — which included Jan's brothers Aegidius and Raphael — produced an extraordinary volume of engravings that circulated across Catholic Europe, disseminating images of religious subjects, p...