The Story
The Lamentation by Scipione Pulzone (Il Gaetano). Purchase, Anonymous Gift, in memory of Terence Cardinal Cooke, 1984
Created in 1593 during the Late Renaissance/Mannerism period, this work belongs firmly within the tragedy & death tradition. Scipione Pulzone worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Oil on canvas, measuring 114 x 68 in. (289.6 x 172.7 cm), the surface rewards close looking. Scipione Pulzone builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
