Beweinung Christi mit dem Heiligen Sigismund und einem knienden Stifter

Beweinung Christi (Lamentation over Christ) with Saint Sigismund and a kneeling donor represents Burgkmair at his most Italian-influenced — the Lamentation format with architectural setting and donor portrait is directly comparable to Venetian altarpieces of the same period. The inclusion of Saint Sigismund — a Burgundian king martyred in 524 and patron saint of rulers — points toward an aristocratic or civic commission in Augsburg, where the Holy Roman Empire's politics were constantly felt. The kneeling donor at lower right is a standard devotional convention placing the patron in eternal proximity to the sacred scene he commissioned.

The Lamentation composition centers on the diagonal of Christ's lowered body, surrounded by grieving figures whose postures and gestures Burgkmair handles with the dramatic Italian influence absorbed in Venice. His palette here is richer than his purely German mode — deeper reds, warmer shadows — reflecting the Venetian colorism he admired in Giovanni Bellini.