The Lamentation of Christ 1460

Dirk Bouts painted "The Lamentation of Christ" on a wood panel sometime in the mid-15th century, and it now hangs here in the Louvre. The work depicts the Virgin Mary and other figures mourning over the dead body of Jesus Christ. Bouts was a Dutch painter active in Leuven, and this work reflects the religious culture of the time. The composition is carefully arranged to focus on the emotional impact of Christ's death. Interestingly, this panel likely formed one part of a larger altarpiece, demonstrating the institutional context of religious art at the time. We might ask, who commissioned it and for what purpose? Was it designed for a church or a private chapel? The answers to these questions lie in archival research, allowing us to understand the painting as more than just an aesthetic object but as a product of a particular social moment.