Altarpiece of the church of St Margaret in Cortona
by Luca SIGNORELLI

The panel of the Lamentation in its original arrangement, mounted in an antique frame with pillars in which were represented seven saints, once enriched the scenography of the high altar of the ancient church of St Margaret in Cortona. This was surely admired by Pope Leo X when, during a stop on his way to Bologna to meet Francis I of France, he visited the church in 1515. In the second half of the 1700s the painting was moved, deprived of its frame, and finally placed in the choir of the cathedral of its origin.

The Lamentation, a work done entirely the artist alone, reveals all the poetry of the painter even in the context of an unrefined style which may seem declamatory, scenic and rhetorical. In the predella that Signorelli probably painted with the help of his assistant, Gerolamo Genga, four scenes from the Passion of Christ are represented: The Prayer in the Garden; The Last Supper; The Capture; The Flagellation.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Lamentation over the Dead Christ
1502
Wood, 270 x 240 cm
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

970*1030
True Color
194 Kb



Lamentation over the Dead Christ (with predella)
1502
Wood, 270 x 240 cm
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

801*1050
True Color
179 Kb



Lamentation over the Dead Christ (detail)
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1021*850
True Color
173 Kb



Lamentation over the Dead Christ (detail)
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1170*800
True Color
168 Kb



Lamentation over the Dead Christ (detail)
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1077*950
True Color
190 Kb



The Prayer in the Garden.
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1471*600
True Color
163 Kb



The Last Supper
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1417*600
True Color
145 Kb



The Capture of Christ
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1348*600
True Color
157 Kb



The Flagellation
1502
Wood
Museo Diocesano, Cortona

1385*600
True Color
159 Kb




Summary of paintings by Luca Signorelli
Frescoes
Frescoes in Orvieto | Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel
Frescoes in Loreto | Frescoes in Monteoliveto
Panel paintings
Altarpiece in Cortona | Various paintings