VISUAL RHETORIC

Visual Rhetoric

Visual Rhetoric

The Lamentation by Petrus Christus is currently located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The medium employed is oil painting on wood, and it is from the Netherlands; made ca. 1450. Christus uses simplicity and clarity to bestow the spectator an emotional affect that gives a sense of sorrow and pity. The cross is stabbed into the dirt in the far right of the middle ground of the ground plane with nails that were employed to crucify him and tools to take them off surrounding it. An urn, which is employed to hold the ashes of a dead person, is seen in the middle ground, relating to the death of Jesus.

Subject

In the painting, “both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus tend to the dead body of Christ.” The bloodied and wounded Jesus is demonstrated being supported by them. As stated on the museum's website, “Mary Magdalene and Saint John come to the aid of the swooning Virgin, who collapses in sympathetic response to her son.” The Virgin Mary and Saint John have their eyes closed in disbelief, mourning what has happened. Saint John is demonstrated supporting her while Mary Magdalene is in the process of approaching the Virgin Mary as depicted with her open arms and eyes focused on her.

Composition

The type of clothes that the figures are wearing in the painting resembles the clothes of the time period in which it was made, 1450's. This allows the spectator during the 1450's to be able to relate to the painting more. It would be as if someone of their time period had witnessed what has happened first hand.

Form and space

Christus uses mainly three colors by out the painting; red, blue and green to induce a solemn affect on the spectator. The multiple tones of red ...