The Lamentation

Petrus Christus painted the devotional scene around 1450, showing the Virgin Mary and followers mourning over Christ's body after the Crucifixion. The figures are arranged in a compressed, intimate composition with a distant landscape visible through the scene. Christus was a leading Early Netherlandish painter who succeeded Jan van Eyck in Bruges.

The painting demonstrates the detailed oil technique characteristic of Flemish masters, with careful attention to fabric textures, skin tones, and emotional expressions. Mary's deep blue robe contrasts with the pale body of Christ. Now at the Louvre in Paris.