Lamentation of Christ
Johann Michael Rottmayr (1654 - 1730)
Framesize 163.30 x 195.30 x 6.80 cm
Having settled in Venice in 1657, Loth rose to become the leading Venetian painter of the latter half of the 17th century. Through his commissions at European courts, he was much in demand as a teacher. The Return of the Prodigal Son shows Loth’s typical large figures rendered in close-up. The warm, earthy and brown shades are those of the “tenebrosi”, in the naturalistic chiaroscuro style of Caravaggio (1571–1610). Deeply moved, the son believed lost kneels before his father, who has received him with clemency. His fingers, clenching into his muscular body, reflect the emotional tension of the scene. The ring, proffered with jewelled garments and fine fabrics, and the father’s baroque attitude make it clear that the son is being received once more into the home.
DUCKE Astrid: Rottmayr Johann Michael, Lamentation of Christ, in: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, p. 108
More artworks by Johann Michael Rottmayr
The Apotheosis of St Charles Borromeo (Sketch for the left side-altar painting in the Collegiate Church, Salzburg), um 1721
Johann Michael Rottmayr
Inv. no. 259
Homage to a Tutelary Goddess (further interpretation: Allegory of Empress Elisabeth Christine as Astraea), c 1714
Johann Michael Rottmayr
Inv. no. 596