The Lamentation 1606

Peter Paul Rubens created this oil on panel painting, The Lamentation, sometime in the early 17th century. Rubens was not only a prolific painter, but also ran a large workshop. Looking closely, you can see the energetic brushwork, and how the artist has built up the paint in layers to create a feeling of depth and drama. The materiality of the paint itself, its viscosity and sheen, is part of the story. Rubens’s workshop was set up on a factory production model. He would create preliminary sketches, and assistants would then prepare the canvases, and block in areas of the composition like drapery or background elements. Rubens would then complete the most important parts of the painting, like the faces and hands. This division of labor allowed Rubens to produce a large number of paintings, meeting the demand of wealthy patrons. It raises questions about authorship, value, and the nature of creative work itself. It's important to remember that an artwork like this one, however beautiful, reflects a specific system of production, and a complex social context.