Pietà (The Dead Christ Mourned by Nicodemus and Two Angels)

c. 1500

Filippino Lippi

Painter, Florentine, 1457 - 1504

A man and two winged angels support the limp body of a muscular, nearly nude man, Jesus, who is perched on the end of a tomb in this wide, horizontal painting. The people all have nearly white-colored skin faintly tinged with green. Jesus’s knees and body are angled very slightly to our left, and his head hangs down in that direction with his eyes and lips closed. He has a beard and long blond hair and a delicate gold halo. White cloth wraps around his shoulders and upper arms and another across his hips, and blood trickles from a gash over his right ribs. The man supporting him is bearded and wears a sapphire-blue turban and a raspberry-red robe. He looks at us from over Jesus’s left shoulder, to our right, and he supports Jesus’s torso with both hands. Both angels have blue robes over amethyst-purple garments visible only at the necklines and cuffs, long blond hair, gold halos, and wings shaded with pastel blue, yellow, and pink. They each support one of Jesus’s arms near the elbows. The angel to our left looks up at Jesus and holds one end of the white cloth that wraps around Jesus’s shoulders. The other angel looks down and holds a ring of thorns. The fabric separates Jesus’s body from the man and angel’s touch for all four hands. Jesus’s legs are shown from the mid-thigh up against the dark opening of the rectangular tomb. The area behind the group is dark within a rocky outcropping painted with shades of caramel and ash brown.

Media Options

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 7

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil (and possibly tempera) on panel

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    painted surface: 17.5 x 33.3 cm (6 7/8 x 13 1/8 in.)
    support: 19 x 34.8 cm (7 1/2 x 13 11/16 in.)
    framed: 31 x 46.2 x 4 cm (12 3/16 x 18 3/16 x 1 9/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1952.5.86

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly executed 1501 for the church of San Domenico in Bologna, where it probably remained on the altar of the Casali chapel as part of the predella of the altarpiece (still in situ) until the late 1720s.[1] privately owned, probably by the Isolani family, Bologna; sold c. 1900 to (Charles Fairfax Murray [1849-1919], London and Florence) on joint account with (Haskard and Co., London); sold 18 December 1901 to (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London);[2] sold 13 February 1902 to Robert Henry [1850-1929] and Evelyn Holford [1856-1943] Benson, London and Buckhurst Park, Sussex; sold 1927 with the Benson collection to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York);[3] sold to Frederick Housman, New York, by 1931;[4] sold to (Frederick Mont, New York); sold 30 January 1952 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1952 to NGA.
[1] This is suggested not only by the painting's close stylistic relation with Filippino's altarpiece in the chapel, but also by the fact that it was acquired in Bologna (see note 2), where the sources record no work by this artist except the large altar panel in San Domenico. Signed "OPUS PHILIPPINI FLOR. PICT. A.S. MCCCCCI," it represents the Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine with Saints Joseph, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, and Sebastian. It was probably executed for the chapel of the Casali family, to the right of the main chapel, where Pietro Lami saw and described it in 1560 (Delle pitture, sculture e architetture esistenti in Bologna..., in Giuseppe Guidicini, Miscellanea storico-patria bolognese, Bologna, 1872: 370). It is still in that chapel, which eventually came into the possession of the Isolani, heirs in 1802 of Marchese Gregorio Casali (see Vittorio Spreti, Enciclopedia storico-nobiliare italiana, 9 vols., Milan, 1928-1931: 3(1930):694). However, during a reconstruction campaign in the church between 1727 and 1733 (see Venturino Alce, "La chiesa di San Domenico di Bologna rinnovato da Carlo Francesco Dotti," Memorie domenicane 86 [1969]: 151-168) the altarpiece was removed, and in 1732 the chapel was described as still lacking its altarpiece (see Carlo Cesare Malvasia, Le pitture di Bologna, Bologna, 1686, 3rd ed. 1732: 249). Presumably it was in this period that the painting lost its original frame and, possibly, its predella.
[2] The curious story that the panel was "bought at the Railway Station, Bologna, by Fairfax Murray" is included in Robert Henry Benson's notes on the painting's history (transcript provided in 1976 by his grandson, Peter Wake, and in NGA curatorial files), and is not doubted by Dr. Miklós Boskovits, author of the NGA systematic catalogue entry on the painting. In the years around 1900, Murray was an agent of Agnew's in Italy. On Murray's life and activity see also Denys Sutton, "Aspects of British Collecting. IV," Apollo 122, no. 282 (August 1985): 122-123. The Bolognese provenance is corroborated by the painting's influence on Amico Aspertini's relief for the facade of San Petronio in that city (see Maria Grazia Ciardi Duprè Dal Poggetto, "La scultura diAmico Aspertini," Paragone 16, no. 189 [1965]: 20).
[3] The dates of the sales to Agnew's and Benson are given in the microfiche copy of "Records of Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd, The Picture Stock Books," held by the Getty Provenance Index (copy in NGA curatorial files). The entry for Agnew's stock no. 194 reads: "Dec. 18, 1901, Fillippino Lippi, Pieta, from Haskard C.F.M. 1/2 profit, [price code], sold to R.H. Benson on Feb. 13, 1902." On the sale of the Benson collection to Duveen Brothers see Tancred Borenius, "The Benson Collection," Apollo 6 (1927): 65-70, and Frank E. Washburn Freund, "Die Sammlung Benson," Der Cicerone 19 (1927): 495-502.
[4] The painting is listed in that location by Lionello Venturi, Pitture italiane in America, Milan, 1931: pl. 203, note.
[5] The bill of sale from Frederick Mont to the Kress Foundation for five paintings, including the "Benson Pieta," is dated 30 January 1952 (copy in NGA curatorial files). The painting was either acquired from or co-owned by Newhouse Galleries, per a letter dated 14 February 1952 from Bert Newhouse to Mr. and Mrs. G.H.A. Clowes of Indianapolis (Indianapolis Museum of Art, Clowes Collection Archives, Folder: Newhouse Galleries 1952, copy NGA curatorial files, see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1637).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1902

  • A Collection of Paintings, Drawings, Bronzes and Decorative Furniture, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1902, no. 49, as Pietà. Christ in the Tomb, Supported by Joseph of Arimathaea; Two Angels with the Crown of Thorns and Nails.

1908

  • Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters. Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1908, no. 27.

1919

  • Exhibition of Florentine Painting before 1500, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1919, no. 10 (no. 10 and pl. X in illustrated catalogue published 1920).

1927

  • Loan Exhibition of the Benson Collection of Old Italian Masters, City of Manchester Art Gallery, 1927, no. 109, as Pieta: St. Joseph of Aremathea and Two Angels.

1979

  • Berenson and the Connoisseurship of Italian Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1979, no. 99.

1997

  • The Drawings of Filippino Lippi and his Circle, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997-1998, no. 111, repro.

2004

  • Botticelli and Filippino. Passion and Grace in Fifteenth-Century Florentine Painting, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, 2004, no. 58, repro.

2011

  • Filippino Lippi e Sandro Botticelli nella Firenze del '400, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, 2011-2012, no. 47, repro.

Bibliography

1901

  • Venturi, Adolfo. Storia dell’arte italiana. 11 vols. Milan, 1901-1940: 7(1911):674 n. 1.

1903

  • Berenson, Bernard. The Drawings of the Florentine Painters. 2 vols. London, 1903: 2:74.

1907

  • Cust, Lionel. “La Collection de M. R. H. Benson (Londres).” Les Artes 70 (1907): 26.

  • Schleinitz, O. von. “Die Winteraustellung in der Londoner Akademie.” Kunstchronik 19, no. 22 (1907-1908): 370-371.

  • Gronau, Georg. “Lippi, Filippino.” In Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker, and Hans Vollmer, eds._ Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zum Gegenwart_. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 23(1929): 270.

1914

  • Borenius, Tancred. Catalogue of Italian Pictures at 16 South Street, Park Lane, London and Buckhurst in Sussex Collected by Robert and Evelyn Benson. London, 1914: no. 31.

1917

  • “Auctions.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 30, no. 171 (1917): 244.

1919

  • Phillips, Claude. “Florentine Art before 1500.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 34 (1919): 216.

1923

  • Marle, Raimond van. The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting. 19 vols. The Hague, 1923-1938: 12(1931):312-314.

1932

  • Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Oxford, 1932: 286.

  • Bodmer, Heinrich. “Der Spätstil des Filippino Lippi.” Pantheon 9 (1932): 353.

1933

  • Venturi, Lionello. Italian Paintings in America. 3 vols. New York and Milan, 1933: 2:pl.265.

1935

  • Scharf, Alfred. Filippino Lippi. Vienna, 1935: 108, 120, fig. 63.

1936

  • Berenson, Bernard. Pitture italiane del rinascimento. Milan, 1936: 246.

  • Parker, Karl Theodore, and Charles John Holmes. Catalogue of the Famous Collection of Old Master Drawings, formed by the Late Henry Oppenheimer, Esq., F.S.A., of 9 Kensington Palace Gardens, W.8. Sale cat. Christie’s, Manson, and Woods. London, 10 July – 14 July 1936: 58.

  • “In the Auction Rooms.” Connoisseur 98, no. 421 (September 1936): 180.

1938

  • Neilson, Katharine B. Filippino Lippi, a Critical Study. New York, 1938: 121, 147, 151.

  • Berenson, Bernard. The Drawings of the Florentine Painters. 3 vols. Chicago, 1938: 2:144, 151.

1950

  • Scharf, Alfred. Filippino Lippi, 2nd ed. Vienna, 1950: 22, 54.

1953

  • Exhibition of Old Master Drawings. Exh. cat. Colnaghi, London, 1953: under cat. 15.

1955

  • Fossi, Maria, ed. Mostra di disegni di Filippino Lippi e Piero di Cosimo. Exh. cat. Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, Florence, 1955: 18.

1956

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 116, no. 44, repro.

1957

  • Berti, Luciano, and Umberto Baldini. Filippino Lippi. Florence, 1957: 46, 90.

1958

  • Gamba, Fiammetta. Filippino Lippi nella storia della critica. Florence, 1958: 102 n. 33, 104 n. 54, fig. 21.

1959

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 73, repro.

  • Hamilton, Chloe. “Catalogue of Miller Fund Acquisitions: Drawings.” Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin 16, no. 2 (1959): 88-89.

1961

  • Davies, Martin. National Gallery Catalogues. The Earlier Italian Schools. London, 1961: 285.

  • Berenson, Bernard. I disegni dei pittori fiorentini, 3 vols. Milan, 1961: 2:253, 265.

1963

  • Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Florentine School. 2 vols. London, 1963: 1:111.

1964

  • Stechow, Wolfgang. “Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus?” In Wolfgang Lotz and Lisa Lotte Möller, eds. Studien zur toskanischen Kunst: Festschrift für Ludwig Heinrich Heyendreich zum 23 März 1963. Munich, 1964: 295-297, repro.

  • Stechow, Wolfgang, and Richard E. Spear. Catalogue of Drawings and Watercolors in the Allen Art Museum, Oberlin College. Oberlin, OH, 1964: 48.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 75.

  • Ciardi Dupré Dal Poggetto, Maria Grazia. “La scultura di Amico Aspertini.” Paragone 16, no. 189 (1965): 20.

1966

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XIII-XV Century. London, 1966: 136, fig. 371.

  • Spencer, John R. “The Lament at the Tomb by Filippino Lippi.” Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin 24, no. 1 (1966): 23, 26, 27, 33, repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 66, repro.

1972

  • Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, MA, 1972: 106, 647.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 196, repro.

  • Shoemaker, Innis H. “Filippino Lippi as a Draughtsman.” Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1975: 88-89, 318-323, 432 n. 1, cat. 90.

1979

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:260-261; 2:pl. 177.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 104, no. 71, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 229, repro.

  • Sutton, Denys. “Aspects of British Collection, pt. 4.” Apollo 122 (1985): 122-123.

1988

  • Wheeler, Marion, ed. His Face--Images of Christ in Art: Selections from the King James Version of the Bible. New York, 1988: no. 96, repro.

  • Bambach Cappel, Carmen. “The Tradition of Pouncing Drawings in the Italian Renaissance Workshop: Innovation and Derivation.” 2 vols. Ph.D. diss. Yale University, 1988: 202-203.

1991

  • Berti, Luciano, and Umberto Baldini. Filippino Lippi, 2nd ed. Florence, 1991: 52-53.

  • Nelson, Jonathan K. “Aggiunte alla cronologia di Filippino Lippi.” Rivista d’arte 43 (1991): 52-53.

1992

  • Nelson, Jonathan K. “The Later Works of Filippino Lippi from the Roman Sojourn until His Death.” Ph.D. diss. New York University, Institute of Fine Arts, 1992: 328-329.

1995

  • Faietti, Marzia, Daniela Scaglietti Kelescian, and Manuela Iodice. Amico Aspertini. Modena, 1995: 185.

1996

  • Dunbar, Burton, and Edward Olszewski. Drawings in Midwestern Collections: A Corpus. 2 vols. Columbia, MO, and London, 1996: 1:37-41, repro.

1997

  • Bambach, Carmen C. “Technique and Working Practice in Filippino’s Drawings.” In George R. Goldner and Carmen Bambach, et. al. The Drawings of Filippino Lippi and His Circle. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997: 28.

  • Goldner, George R., and Carmen Bambach, et. al. The Drawings of Filippino Lippi and His Circle. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997: 332.

1998

  • Del Bravo, Carlo. ”Filippino e lo Stoicismo.” Artibus et historiae 19, no. 37 (1998): 74 n. 66.

2001

  • Fornasari, Liletta. "Andrea del Verrocchio e le botteghe toscane: l'atelier del Rinascimento." In Liletta Fornasari, ed. Leonardo e dintorni: il Maestro, le botteghe, il territorio. Exh. cat. Palazzo del Comune, Arezzo, 2001: 78, fig. 65.

2003

  • Boskovits, Miklós, David Alan Brown, et al. Italian Paintings of the Fifteenth Century. The Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2003: 388-393, color repro.

2004

  • Zambrano, Patrizia, and Jonathan Katz Nelson. Filippino Lippi. Milan, 2004: 381, 383, 601-602, cat. 58, fig. 301.

2017

  • Serres, Karen. "Duveen's Italian framemaker, Ferruccio Vannoni." The Burlington Magazine 159, no. 1370 (May 2017): 373 n. 40.

2020

  • Nuttall, Paula. “From Reiteration to Dialogue: Filippino’s Responses to Netherlandish Painting.” In Paula Nuttall, Geoffrey Nuttall, Michael W. Kwakkelstein, eds. Filippino Lippi: Beauty, Invention and Intelligence. Leiden, 2020: 198.

2022

  • Nelson, Jonathan K. Filippino Lippi: An Abundance of Invention. London, 2022: 174-175, fig. 62.

  • Calogero, Giacomo Alberto. “Perugino, Filippino e Boltraffio: Gli arrivi ‘forestieri’ a Bologna intorno al 1500.” In Daniele Benati, Maria Luisi Pacelli, and Elena Rossoni, eds. Giulio II e Raffaello: Una nuova stagione del Rinascimento a Bologna. Exh. cat. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, 2022: 97, 99 n. 44, 107, fig. 2.

Wikidata ID

Q20174782

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