Luis de Morales was celebrated for his devotional images. Their exquisite facture and morbid sensibility made them perfect vehicles for meditation and earned him the epithet "El Divino." He was the favorite painter of the religious reformer and saint Juan de Ribera (1532–1611). As one prominent scholar has noted: "No Spanish painter was ever to surpass Morales in ex-pressing the passionate, personal faith of the mystical writers." This extremely fine picture was owned by Pope Pius VII and upon his death in 1823 passed to his family, who retained it until 2014.

The Artist: Luis de Morales is one of the defining painters of sixteenth-century Spain. Indeed, despite the conspicuous difference in artistic ambition and stature, he is scarcely less important for an understanding of Spanish art in the age of the Counter-Reformation than El Greco, who mined the same vein of intense spirituality, albeit with strikingly different results. The exquisite facture and morbid sensibility of Morales’s devotional paintings made them perfect vehicles for meditation and, according to Antonio Palomino (1653–1726)—the author of our major source for biographical information in El Museo pictórico (vol. 3, 1724)—earned him the epithet of “El Divino.” What makes his work so important to any history of Spanish art is the way his images complement the practice of mental prayer that was at the center of the religious life of the great Spanish mystics, such as Saint Teresa of ávila (1515–1582) and Saint John of the Cross (1542–1591). The character of Morales’s intensely-felt images, of which this painting is an extremely fine example, has been related to such influential religious texts as Fray Luís de Granada’s Libro de la oracíon y meditacíon (The Book of Prayer and Meditation, 1554, revised 1566; for a discussion of thiect of Morales’s art, see Alfonso Rodriguez de Ceballas, “El mundo espiritual del pintor Luis de Morales. En el IV centenario de su muerte" in Goya: Revista de arte No.196, 1987, pp. 194–203). Indeed, it has been said: “No Spanish painter was ever to surpass Morales in ex-pressing the passionate, personal faith of the mystical writers.” (see Jonathan Brown, The Golden Age of Painting in Spain, New Haven, 1991, p. 52).

The date of Morales’s birth has been debated. According to Palomino, it was 1509, corresponding with the artist's own declaration, in 1584, that he was seventy-three or –four years of age (but for an alternative view see Isabel Mateo Gómez, "Flandes, Portugal y Toledo en la obra de Luis de Morales: las Vírgenes gitanas o del sombrero," Archivo Espa?ol de Arte LXXX, 317, 2007, p. 8 n. 2). It has long been conjectured that he spent time in Seville in the workshop of the Flemish painter Pedro de Campa?a (Pieter de Kempeneer, 1503–1586), who is documented there in 1537, but since Morales was already active independently in 1535, it is perhaps more likely that he got his artistic training in Castile (on this, see Ruiz 2015, p. 39). His earliest dated work is a Madonna and Child of 1546, painted for the hospital of San Andrés but now in the church of San Augustin, Madrid. One of his most important surviving retables was for Arroyo del Puerco (Arroyo de la Luz) near Cáceres (1560–68). In 1564 he painted the portrait of the new, reform-minded bishop of Badajoz, Juan de Ribera (1532–1611), whose favored painter he became (the portrait is in the Museo del Prado; a triptych with Juan de Ribera shown in one of the shutters is in the Museo de Bellas Artes, Cádiz). Juan de Ribera had attended the Council of Trent, which laid out guidelines for the function of religious images, and his reforming zeal was crucial to Morales’s art—especially for his devotional panels. We know, in fact, that in 1567, Morales was contracted by Juan de Ribera to paint two pictures showing Christ at the column with Saint Peter and two of the Virgin dressed as a gypsy with the Christ Child. These works provided models that were repeated in the workshop, with variations. Even before then, in 1564, it seems that Morales’s work had come to the attention of Philip II, who in that year is said to have given a painting showing the dead Christ (Cristo Nazareno) with the Virgin and Saint John to the royal monastic foundation of San Jerónimo in Madrid. According to Palomino, Morales was summoned by the king to the Escorial, who, however, realized that while he excelled in the painting of works for private devotion, he was less talented for the job of painting the many altarpieces required for the Escorial. That task went instead, in 1568, to Juan Fernández Navarrete (1526–1579), called El Mudo. 

Morales had two sons (born 1551 and 1554) and five daughters, one of whom took the veil in 1581 (for a documentary survey of his life, from which this summary is drawn, see Carmelo Solis Rodriguez, Luis de Morales, Fundación Caja de Badajoz, 1999; and, more recently—and with different documentary material—Luis Zolle in Ruiz 2015, pp. 227–54).

The Picture: The Virgin, flanked on her right by Mary Magdalen and on her left by Saint John the Evangelist, is shown supporting her dead son, her veiled head gently tilted, her noble face ex-pressive of contained, dignified sorrow. In her arm she cradles the dead body of her son, with its shockingly described head, the signs of his tormented, violent death indicated with unflinching precision. The Virgin’s left hand gently presses against the flesh of her son’s chest, offering a further contrast between the living and the dead. The two assisting figures, their faces ringed by beautifully rendered curling locks of hair, are shown mourning, with crystalline tears coursing down their cheeks. As is so often the case with Morales, there is an obsessive concern with details that draw the viewer in: the inordinately long eyelashes and individual strands of hair (Palomino notes, “the hair was executed so finely and so delicately that it made even those who are most versed in art want to blow on it to see it move”); the tears that course down the cheeks of the Magdalen and Saint John; the rivulet of blood that trickles down Christ’s neck, pooling in his shoulder blade and then continuing down his breast; the delicately edged, transparent veil the Magdalen holds to her face; and the wood grain of the cross. In this way, sites for meditation are established. In devotional literature tears were encouraged as a spiritual gift. The incipient beard on John’s chin establish his youth and status as a pure virgin—a counterpoint to the Magdalen’s past. The Virgin’s breast, with which she had nursed the infant Christ, is poignantly shown through her garment next to his dead body: a common theme of medieval diptychs was the Madonna and Child in one wing and Christ as the Man of Sorrows in the other. The wood of the cross locates the figures on Calvary, where Christ has been taken down from the cross, but the background is black, eliminating any further reference to time or place. The emphasis is on a meditational recreation of the scene rather than a narrative of an event.

In this work, which is notable for the sculptural character of the figures, Morales combines features from the two great schools of Renaissance painting: the detailed realism of Netherlandish practice and the compositional clarity of Italian painting. But there is also an archaic intention in the simple grouping of the three half-length figures. As noted in the biographical summary, according to Palomino Morales was summoned by Philip II to work at the Escorial. There he would have seen the work of Rogier van der Weyden (1399–1464) as well as the devotional images of Sebastiano del Piombo (ca. 1485–1547). It is the programmed intermixing of these two currents of European painting that gives his art its peculiarly compelling character: at once austerely simple and obsessively detailed. The iconographic formula of the Virgin and the dead Christ aligned along a central axis, flanked by the Magdalen and Saint John the Evangelist, has a long lineage stretching back to Byzantine models and was notably treated by Hans Memling in a painting in the Capilla Real of Granada cathedral. Morales and his workshop treated the theme of the Pietà repeatedly, but most often with the dead Christ shown parallel to the picture plane, his head thrown back along a diagonal, and the Virgin with her body viewed frontally. What is unusual in the MMA painting is the foreshortening of Christ’s body and the notable torsion of the Virgin’s—traits that underscore its ambitious character and its debt to Italian models. Two copies—neither of high quality—are known: one in the Museo Lazaro Galdiano, Madrid; the other sold at Sotheby’s, New York in January 2005. In a Pietà in the parish church of Polán, near Toledo, the figure of Christ is clearly derived from the same cartoon or template as The Met’s picture, whereas the Virgin is frontally posed and shown in isolation and is taken from a different one; the resulting image has a less powerfully sculptural effect. The Polán picture is in every way inferior to The Met’s painting, being less detailed, more generalized, and more planar in its treatment of the foreshortened figure of Christ. (Curiously, Mena Marqués—who, however, had not seen The Met’s painting—inverted this obvious relationship: see Ruiz Gómez 2015). The figure of the Magdalen in The Met’s picture reappears, with her gesture altered, in the wing of a triptych in the Museo del Prado. That is a work that, given the smaller scale of the Virgin and Christ in the center panel vis-à-vis that of the figures in the wings, was apparently assembled in Morales’s workshop from various panels he had on hand. A technical examination of the center panel of that work has shown how designs were used in the workshop (see the contribution in Ruiz Gómez 2015, pp. 220–22). The Polán Pietà and the Prado triptych are both dated to the 1560s, and this seems the most likely date for The Met's painting as well.

Examination of the picture with infra-red reflectography has revealed a delicate drawing done in parallel hatching in a dry medium. Similar drawings have been documented in other works by the artist.

The work is mentioned in an inventory of the contents of the Palazzo Chiaramonti in Cesena drawn up prior to 1859. The palace was acquired in 1807 by Pope Pius VII for his nephew Scipione Chiaramonti. It seems likely that the picture was owned by the pope and inherited by his nephew. When Pius died in in the Quirinale Palace in Rome in 1823, his privately owned works had been moved to another apartment in the building, the Soglia (later Meniconi) apartment, which was in the first corridor of the Panetteria. There one finds listed a picture of the Pietà in a gold frame, under glass; this is the way the present picture was kept throughout the time it was in the Chiaramonti palace and thus the two may be one and the same work. If this is so, it raises the question of how Pius VII acquired the picture. Had it been a diplomatic gift to the pope?

Keith Christiansen 2015

路易斯·德·莫拉萊斯因其虔誠(chéng)的形象而聞名。他們精致的制服和病態(tài)的敏感使他們成為冥想的完美載體，并為他贏得了“El Divino”的稱號(hào)。他是宗教改革家和圣胡安德里貝拉（1532-1611）最喜歡的畫家。正如一位著名學(xué)者所說(shuō)：“沒有西班牙畫家能夠超越莫拉萊斯，表達(dá)對(duì)神秘作家的熱情和個(gè)人信仰。” 這幅極其精美的油畫由教皇庇護(hù)七世所有，并于1823年去世后傳給了他的家人，他的家人一直保留到2014年。

藝術(shù)家： 路易斯·德·莫拉萊斯是十六世紀(jì)西班牙的畫家之一。事實(shí)上，盡管在藝術(shù)野心和素材方面存在顯著差異，但他在反革命時(shí)代對(duì)于理解西班牙藝術(shù)的重要性遠(yuǎn)不如埃爾·格列柯那么重要，埃爾·格列柯雖然取得了截然不同的結(jié)果，卻開發(fā)了同樣強(qiáng)烈的靈性。莫拉萊斯的靈修畫作的精致制作和病態(tài)敏感使他們成為完美的冥想工具，據(jù)安東尼奧·帕洛米諾（1653-1726） - 我們?cè)贓l Museopictórico的傳記信息主要來(lái)源的作者（第3卷，第1724頁(yè)） - 告訴他“El Divino”的綽號(hào)。使他的作品對(duì)任何西班牙藝術(shù)史都如此重要的是他的形象補(bǔ)充了作為宗教生活中心的精神祈禱的實(shí)踐偉大的西班牙神秘主義者，如阿維拉的圣特雷莎（1515-1582）和十字架的圣約翰（1542-1591）。莫拉萊斯強(qiáng)烈感受到的圖像的特征，其中這幅畫是一個(gè)非常好的例子，與FrayLuísdeGranada的Libro delaoracíonmeditacíon（The Book of Prayer and Meditation，1554，1566年修訂版）等有影響的宗教文本有關(guān)。;關(guān)于莫拉萊斯藝術(shù)的這一方面的討論，請(qǐng)參閱阿芙奧·羅德里格斯·德·塞巴拉斯，“Goya中的El mundo espiritual del pintor Luis de Morales.En el IV centenario de su muerte” ：Revista de arte No.196,1987，pp.194-203）。事實(shí)上，有人說(shuō)：“在表達(dá)對(duì)神秘的熱情和個(gè)人信仰方面，沒有西班牙畫家能夠超越莫拉萊斯?！保ㄒ奐onathan Brown，西班牙繪畫的黃金時(shí)代，紐黑文，1991年，第52頁(yè)） ）。

莫拉萊斯的出生日期一直存在爭(zhēng)議。根據(jù)帕洛米諾的說(shuō)法，這是1509，與藝術(shù)家自己的聲明相對(duì)應(yīng)，在1584年，他是七十三歲或四歲（但另一種觀點(diǎn)見IsabelMateoGómez，“Flandes，Portugal y Toledo en la obra德路易斯·莫拉萊斯：拉斯Vírgenesgitanas?德爾草帽，” 檔案館西班牙語(yǔ)德藝術(shù)LXXX，317,2007，p。8 n。2）。長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)人們一直猜測(cè)他曾在塞維利亞的佛蘭德畫家PedrodeCampa?a（Pieter de Kempeneer，1503-1586）的工作室度過(guò)時(shí)間，他在1537年被記錄在那里，但由于莫拉萊斯在1535年已經(jīng)獨(dú)立活動(dòng)，所以也許他更有可能在卡斯蒂利亞接受過(guò)藝術(shù)訓(xùn)練（就此而言，參見Ruiz 2015，第39頁(yè)）。他最早的作品是麥當(dāng)娜和兒童1546年，為圣安德烈斯醫(yī)院繪制，但現(xiàn)在在馬德里圣奧古斯丁教堂。他最重要的幸存者之一是在卡塞雷斯（1560-68）附近的阿羅約德爾普爾科（Arroyo de la Luz）。1564年，他描繪了新的，改革思想的巴達(dá)霍斯主教，胡安·德·里貝拉（1532-1611）的畫像，他成為了他最喜歡的畫家（肖像畫在普拉多博物館;一張三聯(lián)畫，Juan de Ribera畫在一張百葉窗位于加的斯的貝拉斯藝術(shù)博物館（Museo de Bellas Artes，Cádiz）。Juan de Ribera參加了特倫特委員會(huì)，該委員會(huì)為宗教形象的功能制定了指導(dǎo)方針，他的改革熱情對(duì)莫拉萊斯的藝術(shù)至關(guān)重要 - 尤其是他的靈修小組。事實(shí)上，我們知道，在1567年，莫拉萊斯與胡安·德·里貝拉（Juan de Ribera）簽約，畫了兩張照片，上面顯示基督與圣彼得一起上座，兩位圣母與基督兒童一起打扮成吉普賽人。這些作品提供了在車間重復(fù)的模型和變化。甚至在那之前，在1564年，似乎莫拉萊斯的作品已經(jīng)引起了菲利普二世的注意，據(jù)說(shuō)那一年他曾畫過(guò)一幅畫，展示了死去的基督（克里斯托·納扎雷諾）與維爾京和圣約翰的皇家修道院馬德里圣赫羅尼莫基金會(huì)。根據(jù)帕洛米諾的說(shuō)法，莫拉萊斯被國(guó)王傳喚給埃斯科里亞爾，然而，埃斯科里亞認(rèn)識(shí)到，雖然他擅長(zhǎng)私人獻(xiàn)身作品的繪畫，但他在繪制埃斯科里亞爾所需的許多祭壇畫的工作上并不那么有才華。相反，這項(xiàng)任務(wù)在1568年，

莫拉萊斯有兩個(gè)兒子（1551年和1554年出生）和五個(gè)女兒，其中一個(gè)在1581年揭開了面紗（對(duì)他的生活進(jìn)行了一次紀(jì)錄片調(diào)查，摘要摘自Carmelo Solis Rodriguez，Luis de Morales，F(xiàn)undaciónCajade巴達(dá)霍斯，1999;以及最近 - 和不同的紀(jì)錄片材料 - 路易斯佐勒在魯伊斯2015年，第227-54頁(yè)）。

路易斯·德·莫拉萊斯 悲傷 The Lamentation 邊框

作品：瑪麗·瑪格達(dá)倫（Saint Magdalen）右側(cè)與圣約翰福音傳教士的左側(cè)兩側(cè)的圣母，顯示出支撐她死去的兒子，她的面紗輕輕地傾斜，她的高貴的面孔表達(dá)了包容的，有尊嚴(yán)的悲傷。在她的手臂上，她搖搖欲墜地描述了她兒子的尸體，其頭部令人震驚，他的折磨，暴力死亡的跡象表現(xiàn)出毫不畏縮的精確度。圣母的左手輕輕按壓在兒子胸部的肉上，為生者和死者提供了進(jìn)一步的對(duì)比。這兩個(gè)輔助人物，他們的臉被美麗的卷曲的頭發(fā)環(huán)繞著，顯示哀悼，晶瑩的淚水沿著他們的臉頰流下來(lái)。正如莫拉萊斯經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)的情況一樣，人們對(duì)于吸引觀眾的細(xì)節(jié)有一種強(qiáng)烈的關(guān)注：非常長(zhǎng)的睫毛和單根的頭發(fā)（Palomino注意到，“頭發(fā)的處理非常精細(xì)，如此精致，以至于即使是那些最精通藝術(shù)的人也想要吹上它來(lái)看它的動(dòng)作”）; 從瑪格達(dá)倫和圣約翰的臉頰流下的淚水; 在基督的脖子上流淌著血液的小溪，在他的肩胛骨中匯集，然后繼續(xù)沿著他的乳房; 雅爾達(dá)倫臉上帶著微妙的透明面紗; 和十字架的木紋。通過(guò)這種方式，建立了冥想的場(chǎng)所。在靈修文學(xué)中，鼓勵(lì)眼淚作為精神禮物。圣約翰下巴上的初期胡須確立了他的青春和地位，作為純潔的圣母 - 與Magdalen的過(guò)去相對(duì)立。圣母瑪利亞的乳房，她養(yǎng)育了嬰兒基督，通過(guò)她的衣服在他的尸體旁邊顯露出來(lái)：中世紀(jì)雙聯(lián)畫的共同主題是一個(gè)翼中的麥當(dāng)娜和兒童，另一個(gè)是基督作為悲傷的人。十字架的木頭將人物放在受難地上，在那里基督已從十字架上被拆除，但背景是黑色的，消除了對(duì)時(shí)間或地點(diǎn)的任何進(jìn)一步提及。重點(diǎn)在于對(duì)場(chǎng)景的冥想娛樂，而不是對(duì)事件的敘述。

在這部以人物雕塑特征著稱的作品中，莫拉萊斯結(jié)合了文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期兩大繪畫的特色：荷蘭實(shí)踐的詳細(xì)現(xiàn)實(shí)主義和意大利繪畫的構(gòu)圖清晰度。但是，在三個(gè)半身人物的簡(jiǎn)單分組中也存在著古老的意圖。正如傳記摘要所指出的那樣，根據(jù)帕洛米諾莫拉萊斯被菲利普二世傳喚到埃斯科里亞爾工作。在那里，他會(huì)看到Rogier van der Weyden（1399-1464）的作品以及Sebastiano del Piombo（約1485-1547）的靈修圖像。正是這兩種歐洲繪畫潮流的程序混合，賦予了他的藝術(shù)特有的引人注目的特征：既簡(jiǎn)單又簡(jiǎn)單又細(xì)致。圣母和死去的基督的圖像公式沿著中心軸線對(duì)齊，兩側(cè)是馬格達(dá)倫和圣約翰福音傳教士，有一個(gè)很長(zhǎng)的血統(tǒng)可以追溯到拜占庭模型，并且特別是漢斯·梅姆林在卡皮拉真實(shí)中的一幅畫中對(duì)待格拉納達(dá)大教堂。莫拉萊斯和他的工作室反復(fù)對(duì)待Pietà的主題，但最常見的是死亡的基督與畫面平行，他的頭部沿著對(duì)角線向后拋出，而圣母與她的身體正面看。在MMA繪畫中不尋常的是基督身體的縮短和維珍人特征的顯著扭曲，這強(qiáng)調(diào)了其雄心勃勃的性格和對(duì)意大利模特的負(fù)債。已知兩份 - 既不是高質(zhì)量的 - 一份在馬德里的Lazaro Galdiano博物館; 另一款于2005年1月在紐約蘇富比拍賣。圣母憐子圖在托萊多附近的波蘭教區(qū)教堂里，基督的形象顯然來(lái)自與美國(guó)大都會(huì)圖片相同的卡通或模板，而圣母則是在正面擺放并獨(dú)立展示，取自另一個(gè); 由此產(chǎn)生的圖像具有不太強(qiáng)大的雕塑效果。Polán的畫面在各方面都不如The Met的畫作，在對(duì)待縮短的基督形象的處理方面不那么細(xì)致，更加普遍，更平面。（奇怪的是，MenaMarqués--然而，他沒有看過(guò)The Met的畫作 - 顛倒了這種明顯的關(guān)系：見RuizGómez2015）。在普拉多博物館（Museo del Prado）的一個(gè)三聯(lián)畫的翼中，大都會(huì)畫面中的瑪格達(dá)倫（Magdalen）的形象重新出現(xiàn)，她的手勢(shì)改變了。這是一項(xiàng)工作，鑒于圣母和基督在中心面板上的尺度與機(jī)翼中的數(shù)字相比較小，顯然是在他手邊的各種面板上組裝在莫拉萊斯的車間。對(duì)該工作的中心小組進(jìn)行的技術(shù)審查表明，在研討會(huì)上如何使用設(shè)計(jì)（參見RuizGómez2015中的貢獻(xiàn)，第220-22頁(yè)）。波蘭Pietà和Prado三聯(lián)畫都可以追溯到1560年代，這似乎也是The Met畫作的最佳日期。

用紅外線反射圖檢查圖像顯示在干燥介質(zhì)中平行孵化的精細(xì)繪圖。藝術(shù)家的其他作品中也記載了類似的圖紙。

這項(xiàng)工作在1859年之前制作的Cesena的Palazzo Chiaramonti的內(nèi)容清單中提到。該宮殿于1807年由教皇庇護(hù)七世為他的侄子Scipione Chiaramonti收購(gòu)。這幅畫似乎很可能是由教皇擁有并由他的侄子繼承。當(dāng)Pius于1823年在羅馬的奎里納勒宮去世時(shí)，他的私人作品被搬到了大樓的另一間公寓Soglia（后來(lái)的Meniconi）公寓，該公寓位于Panetteria的第一個(gè)走廊。有人發(fā)現(xiàn)在玻璃下面的金框中列出了Pietà的畫面; 這是在Chiaramonti宮殿中保存現(xiàn)在的照片的方式，因此這兩者可能是同一部作品。如果是這樣的話，就會(huì)引起Pius VII如何獲得圖片的問(wèn)題。這是給教皇的外交禮物嗎？

Keith Christiansen 2015

路易斯·德·莫拉萊斯（Luis de Morales，1515-1586），文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期西班牙畫家，出生于西班牙巴達(dá)霍斯，被稱為埃爾·迪維諾（El Divino，神奇的意思）。最早跟一位染木雕的藝術(shù)家學(xué)畫，1628年移居塞維利亞，1629年獲得了畫師稱號(hào)。17世紀(jì)50年代后逐漸銷聲匿跡，過(guò)著隱士一樣的生活。

莫拉萊斯的大部分作品都是宗教題材，早期受佛羅倫薩藝術(shù)家拉斐爾·桑齊奧、米開朗基羅和萊昂納多倫巴第畫派的影響較大，后期則受德國(guó)和弗蘭德斯畫家的影響，更具解剖學(xué)的正確性。在他的早期作品中，由于他的技巧和他畫作的令人震驚的現(xiàn)實(shí)主義和作品所傳遞的靈性，被他的同時(shí)代人稱為“神奇的莫拉萊斯”。莫拉萊斯的創(chuàng)作接受了卡拉瓦喬主義，把自己的創(chuàng)作活動(dòng)與現(xiàn)實(shí)生活結(jié)合起來(lái)。他畫的宗教題材繪畫，沒有宗教禁欲主義的味道，充滿了生活的情趣。他的作品題材范圍比較狹窄，主要描繪僧侶生活和宗教傳說(shuō)。筆下的人物,無(wú)論是僧侶還是圣徒，都是樸實(shí)、恬靜、自然。這些形象大多是照著模特畫下來(lái)的，人物形象很富有立體感，每一個(gè)細(xì)部都畫得十分仔細(xì)、逼真，顯示了他扎實(shí)的素描功力。他也十分重視背景和道具的描繪，是歐洲17世紀(jì)少見的優(yōu)秀靜物畫家。他的肖像畫也很出色，人物雖大多為靜止的，但各自都有不同的表情。 （陰山工作室根據(jù)各大博物館資料編寫）

The Lamentation

Artist:Luis de Morales (Spanish, Plasencia (?) 1510/11–1586 Alcántara)

Date:ca. 1560

Medium:Oil on walnut

Dimensions:35 × 24 5/8 in. (89 × 62.5 cm)

Classification:Paintings

Credit Line:Purchase, Alejandro Santo Domingo and Annette de la Renta Gifts; Bequests of George D. Pratt and of Annette B. McFadden, and Gifts of Estate of George Quackenbush, in his memory, of Dr. and Mrs. Max A. Goldzieher, of Francis Neilson, of Dr. Foo Chu and Dr. Marguerite Hainje-Chu, of Mr. and Mrs. Harold H. Burns, and of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Logan, and other gifts and bequests, by exchange; Victor Wilbour Fund; and Hester Diamond Gift, 2015 

Accession Number:2015.398

Provenance

?Pope Pius VII, Rome (until d. 1823); his nephew, conte Scipione Chiaramonti, Palazzo Chiaramonti, Cesena (1823–d. 1833); Chiaramonti family, Palazzo Chiaramonti (1833–2014; inv., 1853, no. 2, as "Mezza figura di un Cristo morto in grembo alla addolorata Madre, che lo tiene abbracciato colla destra sul petto, e colla sinistra lo sostiene, Qualè la S[an]ta M[ari]a Maddalena, e S[anto] Giovanni"; sold to Orsi); [Galleria Carlo Orsi, Milan, 2014–15; sold to MMA]

List of works hanging in the Soglia (later Meniconi) apartment in the Panetteria, Quirinal Palace. September 3, 1823, unpaginated, as "altro rappr. la Pietà, con cornice dorata e cristallo".

Giuseppe Marocco. Monumenti dello Stato Pontificio e relazione topografica di ogni paese. Vol. 13, Rome, 1836, p. 173, as in the Chiaramonti collection; calls it a superb work by Morales.

Inventario della galeria de' quadri esistenti negli appartamenti del palazzo in Cesena della nobile famiglia Chiaramonti. February 23, 1853, no. 2, as "Mezza figura di un Cristo morto in grembo alla addolorata Madre, che lo tiene abbracciato colla destra sul petto, e colla sinistra lo sostiene, Qualè la S[an]ta M[ari]a Maddalena, e S[anto] Giovanni," 0.90 x 0.65, located in the bedroom.

Gioacchino Sassi. Reliquie le più insigni che esistono in questa cattedrale ed in tutte le altre chiese della città e diocesi di Cesena. 1865, p. 65 [Biblioteca Comunale Malatestiana, Cesena, ms. 164.70.9], as "Deposizione della Croce di N[ostro] S[ignore] del Morales Pietro giudicato il Raffaele della Spagna," in the Palazzo Chiaramonti.

Corrado Ricci. "Corrado Ricci a Cesena." Il Cittadino 16 (May 15, 1904), p. ?, on a visit to the Chiaramonti collection, attributes the work—then believed to be by Murillo—to Morales, calling it the finest work by the artist that he knew.

Manuela B. Mena Marqués in The Divine Morales. Ed. Leticia Ruiz Gómez. Exh. cat., Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid, 2015, p. 162, fig. 42 (color), calls it "a replica of some quality and similar dimensions" to a "Pietà" in the parish church of San Pedro y San Pablo, Polán (Toledo).

Andrea J. Bayer in "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2014–2016." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 74 (Fall 2016), p. 33, ill. (color).