The Lamentation

This Lamentation from 1516, in the Hermitage, was painted during Sebastiano's early years in Rome when he was working under the influence of Michelangelo. The monumental treatment of grief and the powerful figure modeling reflect Michelangelo's guidance in the design of major compositions. His figures carry Venetian sensuous richness combined with the overwhelming physical presence that Michelangelo's influence brought to his Roman works. Sebastiano del Piombo's religious paintings demonstrate his unique position in Italian Renaissance art: the fusion of Venetian colorism and atmospheric light with the monumental figure style he developed through his collaboration with Michelangelo, who provided him with figure designs that Sebastiano developed with the full resources of his Venetian color tradition. The combination was unprecedented and unrepeated: only Sebastiano had the specific combination of Venetian training and Michelangelesque influence that produced this particular synthesis. His large religious works for Roman churches were among the most admired pictures of the sixteenth century, and his technical achievement in fresco — unusual for a Venetian-trained painter — extended his monumental manner to wall painting.

The large figures are modeled with sculptural power derived from Michelangelo's influence, while the rich Venetian coloring reflects Sebastiano's training under Bellini and Giorgione. This synthesis of Roman disegno and Venetian colorito defines Sebastiano's unique position.