Lamentation over the Dead Christ 1547

Paolo Veronese painted this Lamentation over the Dead Christ, using oil on canvas, a popular choice in the late Renaissance. Look closely, and you'll notice the material influences the appearance of the artwork: the oil paint allows for rich colors and subtle gradations of light and shadow. The texture of the canvas is visible in some areas, adding depth to the composition. Veronese carefully built up layers of paint to create the figures and draperies, which imbues the artwork with a sense of realism and emotional depth. Back then, the process of creating oil paint was laborious, involving grinding pigments and mixing them with oil. The availability and cost of materials like ultramarine blue, derived from lapis lazuli, would influence the artist’s palette. The creation of such a painting involved not only artistic skill, but also the labor of those who extracted and processed the raw materials. In this context, art becomes a product of skilled labor and material resources, reflecting the economic and social conditions of its time. By recognizing the labor and material costs involved, we move beyond the traditional distinction between fine art and craft.