Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross 1847

Henri Lehmann created this lithograph of the Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross in the mid-19th century. Here, the Virgin Mary is overcome with grief at the foot of the cross that looms behind her. Lehmann was a German-French painter associated with academic classicism. He studied in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts, an institution that shaped artistic production by promoting certain styles and subjects. In France, the 19th century saw both the rise of secularism and the entrenchment of the Catholic Church, a political and social force in the country. Lehmann himself received commissions to decorate churches in Paris, which helps to explain his interest in religious subject matter. Art historians consult a range of sources, from exhibition reviews to artists’ correspondence, to understand better the place of works of art within their own historical moment. By understanding the social and institutional context, we can appreciate more fully the complex meanings that artworks embody.