The theme of the Lamentation is traditional, although it is not described in the Bible. It shows Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene & others, weeping over his body after the Crucifixion. Rembrandt's picture is carefully constructed to connect with other episodes of the story of Christ's suffering & death. The two thieves remind us of the Crucifixion itself. The figures climbing down the ladders recall the Deposition, when Christ's body was brought down from the cross. The group of people on the right

Includes:: a man with a feathered hat, whose elegant dress may be meant to suggest Joseph of Arimathaea, who provided the tomb for the Entombment, the burial of Christ. This monochrome oil sketch or 'grisaille' was probably made around 1635 for an etching which was not executed. It has an extremely complex make-up. Rembrandt began by making an oil sketch on paper; he then tore out a section & mounted the rest on canvas. He continued the design on the canvas at the lower right. Finally a pupil added canvas strips at the top & bottom.

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The dead Christ is supported by Saint John the Evangelist. The Virgin laments by his side while the Magdalen leans forward to kiss his feet. This incident is not described in the Gospels, but forms part of a long pictorial tradition. Ribera painted several Lamentations & Depositions most notably a ' Lamentation' in an upright composition of 1637 (Naples, Certosa di San Martino). However, the National Gallery work appears to be his earliest surviving painting of the subject. It is marked by the influence of Caravaggio in its directness & lack of idealisation. Ribera painted the picture in Naples & it has been suggested that it is the work he executed for the Genoese nobleman Marcantonio Doria in 1623. ...

The painting shows in the background the town of Dordrecht (Dort) from the south-east. The skyline is dominated by the Grote Kerk with the Vuilpoort, one of the town's water gates (demolished in 1864), beyond the windmill to the left. A similar view appears in another National Gallery painting by Cuyp, known as ' The Small Dort'. The church & the water gate are seen from another angle in ' The Maas at Dordrecht in a Storm' by Cuyp, also in the National Gallery's Collection. This landscape is a mature work, probably of the late 1650s, demonstrated by the exceptional quality of the monumental representation of the cows, three at rest, & one standing placidly observing the milkmaid at work. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Jean-Etienne Liotard’s The Lavergne Family Breakfast from our collection. About this painting The Lavergne Family Breakfast, 1754 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 2019 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s The Leaning Tree Trunk from our collection. About this painting The Leaning Tree Trunk, about 1860-5 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1910 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Camille Pissarro’s The Louvre under Snow from our collection. About this painting The Louvre under Snow, 1902 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1932 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

Create your own bespoke National Gallery art print of Johan Christian Dahl’s The Lower Falls of the Labrofoss from our collection. About this painting The Lower Falls of the Labrofoss, 1827 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 2016 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

On the right is Dordrecht, dominated by the profile of the Grote Kerk. The horizon is very low which gives greater prominence to the ship in the foreground as well as to the dramatic sky. Storm scenes are very unusual in Cuyp's work. Those that are known ...

Former attributions include Brescian School, Giorgione & School of Titian. The group of the Virgin & Child is probably derived from an influential fresco by Titian in the Doge's Palace, Venice (painted in about 1523). ...

The attribution is by no means certain but another version, similar in design, is also attributed to Sodoma. As in Boltraffio's ' The Virgin & Child', the infant Christ pauses from suckling to acknowledge the worshipping beholder. ...