For more on this painting, see Florentine School, The Crucifixion.
For general information on all three panels, see the condition report for The Crucifixion.
The panel depicting the Lamentation ranges in height from 36.9 to 37.1 centimeters and in width from 35.8 to 36.1 centimeters. The least structurally sound of the group, its cradle was partially removed along the right half of the picture in 1956 by Andrew Petryn. That half of the panel was thinned further and an auxiliary support added, resulting in a pronounced convex warp to the right side. The auxiliary support was removed by Christy Cunningham in a cleaning of 1986. The paint surface of the Lamentation (fig. 1), is the most damaged of the three panels. It was considered too fragile to clean or exhibit in 1952 but was then reconsidered in 1956, at which time it was addressed more aggressively than the others. The center split has resulted in extensive paint loss, and movement along this split prompted another campaign of intervention in 1986. This campaign adopted a solution of visible (trateggio) inpainting to fill losses, contrasting to the invisible inpainting adopted in treating the other panels. Losses in the Lamentation are larger and more numerous than in the other two scenes, affecting both lower corners of the panel; the top-left margin; the tower at the left, through the cornice and left edge of its upper story and the right edge of its upper story through the halo of Joseph of Arimathea; Joseph’s right shoulder and arm; and a large area beneath Saint John the Evangelist’s right sleeve, extending through Christ’s calves to the bottom of the panel. The right side of the panel is more abraded than the left, with a near total loss of gilding, particularly in the haloes. The greatest damage from abrasion occurs through the torso and head of Christ and the head of the Virgin.
