The Lamentation over the Dead Christ

Dateca. 1714

Maker Massimiliano Soldani Italian, Florence, 1656-1740

Label TextIn a theatrical display of grief, Mary swoons over her dead son and an angel turns his head to wipe away tears. Busy angels prepare the shroud and another angel lifts his hands to take the crown of thorns from Mary. This thrillingly emotional composition, with its sweeping movement, is characteristic of the baroque period.

Object number61.178

Provenance(Probably collection of Counts of Bardi, Florence, mid-18th century); Count Trivulzio; Blumka Gallery, New York, to 1954 (as Alessandro Algardi); Samuel H. Kress collection, New York, acquired 1954; Seattle Art Museum, since 1954, accessioned 1961

Photo CreditPhoto: Arrigo Coppitz

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, 2500 Years of Italian Art and Civilization, Nov. 10- Dec. 8, 1958. Cat. no. 54. Seattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, Four Decades of Collecting, Jun. 28- Sep. 23, 1973. No cat. no. Vienna, Austria, Liechtenstein Museum, Baroque Luxury Porcelain: The Manufactories of Du Paquier in Vienna and of Carlo Ginori in Florence, Nov. 6, 2005-Jan. 29, 2006. Text by Kräftner, Johann. No cat. Cat. no. 315, p. 465. Florence, Italy, Galleria degli Uffizi, Il Fasto e la Ragione: Arte del Settecento, May 30- Sep. 30, 2009. Text by Carlo Sisi and Riccardo Spinelli. Cat. no. 64, p. 199. Florence, Italy, Nazionale Museo del Bargello, La Fabbrica Della Bellezza: La manifattura Ginori e il suo popolo di statue, May 18 - Oct. 1, 2017. Published ReferencesSuida, William and Richard Fuller. European Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Seattle, Wash.: Seattle Art Museum, 1954; p. 82, reproduced p. 83. Lankheit, Klaus. “Two Bronzes by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi.” The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 19/20 (1956/1957): pp. 10, 12, 13, 15, reproduced p. 12, reproduced fig. 3. Pope-Hennessy, John. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, England: Phaidon Press for the Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1965; p. 134-135, cat. no. 494. Raggio, Olga, James David Draper, James Parker, Clare Le Corbeiller, Jessie McNab, and Clare Vincent. "European Sculpture and Decorative Arts." Recent Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art) 1985/1986 (1985-1986): pp. 23. Ishikawa, Chiyo. The Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle, Wash.: Seattle Art Museum, 1997; pp. 39, 41, reproduced fig. 23. Winter, J. Le Statue del Marchese Ginori: Sculture in Porcellana Bianca di Doccia. Florence, Italy: Polistampa, 2003; p. 66, reproduced fig. 1. Kräftner, Johann. Baroque Luxury Porcelain: The Manufactories of du Paquier in Vienna and of Carlo Ginori in Florence. Munich, Germany: Prestel, 2005; p. 465, reproduced fig. 315. Allen, Denise. The Frick Collection Members' Magazine 7, No. 1 (Winter 2007): pp. 4. Ishikawa, Chiyo. "Seattle Art Museum." In Italian Treasures in the U.S.: An Itinerary of Art. Edited by Renato Miracco. Rome, Italy: Gangemi Editore International Publishing, 2015; p. 200, reproduced p. 202. Zikos, Dimitri, et al. Making Beauty: The Ginori Porcelain Manufactory and its Progeny of Statues. Exh. Cat. Florence: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, 2017; pp. 124-125, reproduced fig. 7.

Credit LineSamuel H. Kress Collection

Dimensions34 x 32 3/4 x 22 1/2 in. (86.4 x 83.2 x 57.2cm)

MediumBronze