Etching on paper
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/leon-kossoff-1436" aria-label="More by Leon Kossoff" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Leon Kossoff</a>
Lamentation over Dead Christ 1
Presented by Peter and Liz Goulds 1999
actions: postures and motions
adults
bending forward
Bible: New Testament
birth to death
Christ
death
Deposition
emotions and human qualities
emotions, concepts and ideas
grief
man
mourning
Passion
people
religion and belief
Saints
society
St Mary Magdalene
Virgin Mary
woman
<p>This print is one of many etchings executed by Leon Kossoff in response to, and literally in the presence of, oil paintings by old masters; in this case <i>The Lamentation over the Dead Christ</i>, 1656-8, by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), owned by the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. Tate owns two prints by Kossoff after this Poussin painting (Tate P11721-2). The artist’s ability to explore a number of separate responses while making drawings and prints from a single subject is illustrated in these etchings. This version was printed in an edition of twenty with ten artist’s proofs; Tate owns number three of the artist’s proofs.</p>
paper print etching
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ (1)
Presented by Peter and Liz Goulds 1999
<p>This print is one of many etchings executed by Leon Kossoff in response to, and literally in the presence of, oil paintings by old masters; in this case <i>The Lamentation over the Dead Christ</i>, 1656-8, by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), owned by the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. Tate owns two prints by Kossoff after this Poussin painting (Tate <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kossoff-the-lamentation-over-the-dead-christ-1-p11721" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>P11721</span></a>-2). The artist’s ability to explore a number of separate responses while making drawings and prints from a single subject is illustrated in these etchings. This version was printed in an edition of twenty with ten artist’s proofs; Tate owns number three of the artist’s proofs.
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<br/>In the Poussin painting a group of mourning figures kneel and gesture above the prone body of the dead Christ. Mary stands above them looking down at her son. The compositional structure is spare, with the main elements being vertical and horizontal lines formed by the landscape and the figures. The rhythms of the original work are emphasised by Kossoff through his repeated use of horizontal lines to mark out the sparse, relief-like space around the characters. The figure of the Virgin Mary standing over the body of her son is depicted in little more than a collection of vertical lines. These are mirrored by the vertical structure of the wall to the left of the characters. The rich, jewel-like colours of the painting have been transformed by Kossoff into monochrome linearity. This print is etched in darker, bolder lines and the faces of Mary and Jesus are more worked than in its counterpart. A consequence of the printing process is that the image is a reverse of Poussin’s original. Kossoff’s print does not compete with Poussin’s painting, nor does it seek to transcribe, copy or paraphrase it. Rather, it acknowledges the gulf that separates it from the pictorial culture of former times and reveals his desire to find points of contact with Poussin. Kossoff has described the value of this kind of draughtsmanship as a means to building up an acquaintance with the subject of a picture made by another artist until he feels free to ‘move about in its imaginative spaces’ (Kendall, p.19).
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<br/>Kossoff has described the moment of intense elation, which occurred some forty years ago, when he first established a vital connection with Poussin’s art. As a youth and then as a student in London, he had become familiar with the rich historical collections of the National Gallery. One day he had a transformative experience while looking at Poussin’s <i>Cephalus and Aurora</i>, 1629-30 (National Gallery, London):
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<p>It seemed as though I was experiencing the work for the first time. I suppose there is a difference between looking and experiencing. Paintings of this quality, in which the subject is endlessly glowing with luminosity, can, in an unexpected moment, surprise the viewer, revealing unexplored areas of self. </p>
<p align="right">(Kendall, p.19)
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<p>The recent prints made by Kossoff after paintings by Poussin therefore emerge from almost half a century of involvement with Poussin’s oeuvre, initially stimulated by this moment of insight at the National Gallery but more immediately by the 1995 retrospective exhibition, <i>Nicolas Poussin 1594-1665</i>, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
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<br/>The etching plates were prepared by Ann Dowker, a London artist who later collaborated with Kossoff on biting the plates with acid, wiping them before printing, and making trial proofs. In some cases, areas of the etchings were washed with aquatint; in others, lines were emphasised by drypoint. The etchings were printed by Mark Balakjian at Studio Prints, London. 
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<br/><b>Further reading:</b>
<br/>Richard Kendall, <i>Drawn to Painting</i>, London 2000, p.31, 37, reproduced p.65 in colour
<br/>Paul Moorhouse, <i>Leon Kossoff</i>, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1996, pp.27-30
<br/><i>Leon Kossoff: Recent Paintings</i>, exhibition catalogue, British Council, Venice 1995
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<br/>Anna Bright
<br/>September 2005</p>

Summary
2006-04-18T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
actions: postures and motions adults bending forward Bible: New Testament birth to death Christ death Deposition emotions and human qualities emotions, concepts and ideas grief man mourning Passion people religion and belief Saints society St Mary Magdalene Virgin Mary woman