The grief of Johanna of Castile before 1872

This print captures the grief of Johanna of Castile. The stark image centers on Johanna, her hand pressed to her chest, a gesture laden with centuries of sorrow, as she mourns beside a shrouded figure, presumably her deceased husband. This motif of grief, of a figure draped in cloth, appears across time, from ancient Roman funerary art to Renaissance depictions of mourning saints. Consider, for instance, the veiled figures in Giotto’s frescoes; here, too, grief is palpable. The shrouded form invites projection, and the living figure is a poignant reminder of mortality. This gesture has evolved: In antiquity, the hand on the chest was often a symbol of piety or oath-taking, but over time, especially in Christian iconography, it transformed into a symbol of sorrow, reflecting a profound shift in cultural values. The motif engages the viewer on a deep, subconscious level. We see here not just the grief of Johanna of Castile, but the cyclical recurrence of human emotion rendered visible.