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A decorative textile suspended along the altar’s entire front, an altar frontal was often embellished with gold and silver threads, as seen here. This rare example depicts the lamentation of Christ, a common subject in Christian art in which the body of Christ is mourned after its removal from the cross. This version is highly acclaimed for its emotional intensity. Christ’s body is arranged in the shape of the cross, his shoulder rests on the Virgin’s knees, Saint John the Evangelist cradles his left arm, and Mary Magdalene supports his feet. Joseph of Arimathea carries the three nails with which Christ was crucified. This altar cloth was designed by Cosimo Tura who was employed at the court of Ercole I d’Este, duke of Ferrara, as a painter, illuminator, and tapestry designer between 1475 and 1484. His design was woven by Rubinetto di Francia, who was head of a large tapestry workshop at Ercole’s court. The subject of the design would imply its use during the Easter season.
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- 1
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- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 7d58242f2c474e2f
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 127459
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
"id": "127459",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Altar Frontal with the Lamentation",
"description": "A decorative textile suspended along the altar’s entire front, an altar frontal was often embellished with gold and silver threads, as seen here. This rare example depicts the lamentation of Christ, a common subject in Christian art in which the body of Christ is mourned after its removal from the cross. This version is highly acclaimed for its emotional intensity. Christ’s body is arranged in the shape of the cross, his shoulder rests on the Virgin’s knees, Saint John the Evangelist cradles his left arm, and Mary Magdalene supports his feet. Joseph of Arimathea carries the three nails with which Christ was crucified. This altar cloth was designed by Cosimo Tura who was employed at the court of Ercole I d’Este, duke of Ferrara, as a painter, illuminator, and tapestry designer between 1475 and 1484. His design was woven by Rubinetto di Francia, who was head of a large tapestry workshop at Ercole’s court. The subject of the design would imply its use during the Easter season.",
"date": "c. 1474",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.145",
"rights": "CC0",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
"wikidata": [
"Q60761179"
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"creators": [
8044,
46408
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"genreSpecific": [
"Tapestry"
],
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"thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.145/1950.145_web.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.145/1950.145_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 104.2 x 199.4 cm (41 x 78 1/2 in.)",
"cul": [
"Italy, Ferrara"
],
"accession": "1950.145"
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "127459",
"label": "Altar Frontal with the Lamentation",
"core": "obj",
"dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "127459",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Altar Frontal with the Lamentation",
"description": "A decorative textile suspended along the altar’s entire front, an altar frontal was often embellished with gold and silver threads, as seen here. This rare example depicts the lamentation of Christ, a common subject in Christian art in which the body of Christ is mourned after its removal from the cross. This version is highly acclaimed for its emotional intensity. Christ’s body is arranged in the shape of the cross, his shoulder rests on the Virgin’s knees, Saint John the Evangelist cradles his left arm, and Mary Magdalene supports his feet. Joseph of Arimathea carries the three nails with which Christ was crucified. This altar cloth was designed by Cosimo Tura who was employed at the court of Ercole I d’Este, duke of Ferrara, as a painter, illuminator, and tapestry designer between 1475 and 1484. His design was woven by Rubinetto di Francia, who was head of a large tapestry workshop at Ercole’s court. The subject of the design would imply its use during the Easter season.",
"date": "c. 1474",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.145",
"rights": "CC0",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
"wikidata": [
"Q60761179"
],
"creators": [
8044,
46408
],
"genreSpecific": [
"Tapestry"
],
"iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.145/1950.145_web.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.145/1950.145_web.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.145/1950.145_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 104.2 x 199.4 cm (41 x 78 1/2 in.)",
"cul": [
"Italy, Ferrara"
],
"accession": "1950.145"
}
Document source extras
{
"tec": "Wool, silk, gold and silver threads",
"tombstone": "Altar Frontal with the Lamentation, c. 1474. Attributed to Cosimo Tura (Italian, c. 1430–1495), Rubinetto de Francia (Italian, active 1457–1483). Wool, silk, gold and silver threads; overall: 104.2 x 199.4 cm (41 x 78 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1950.145",
"collection": "Textiles",
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Heinemann, Rudolf J., and Adolf Feulner. <em>Stiftung Sammlung Schloss Rohoncz</em>. Lugano-Castagnola: Stiftung Sammlung Schloss Rohoncz, 1937.",
"page_number": "vol. III, cat. 596, pl. 81"
},
{
"citation": "Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, and Charles Crehore Cunningham. <em>2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition : Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Dec. 7, 1951 to Jan. 27, 1952 ; the Baltimore Museum of Art, Feb. 27, 1952 to Mar. 25, 1952</em>. Hartford, CT: Wardsworth Atheneum], 1951.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 95, p. 42, plate XI, p. 73"
},
{
"citation": "Shepherd, Dorothy G. \"\"The Lamentation,\" a Tapestry Antependium Designed by Cosimo Tura.\" <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 38, no. 2 (February 1951): 40–42, 28–29.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: pp. 40–42; Reproduced: pp. 28–29",
"url": "www.jstor.org/stable/25141688"
},
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition Press Release,” February 19, 1951, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/cmapr0014"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 214",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n48"
},
{
"citation": "Milliken, William Mathewson. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1958.",
"page_number": "p. 30"
},
{
"citation": "Ruhmer, Eberhard. <em>Tura: Paintings and Drawing</em>s. London: Phaidon Publ, 1958.",
"page_number": "p. 7, 37, 183, pl. IIc"
},
{
"citation": "Detroit Institute of Arts, and Paul L. Grigaut. <em>Decorative Arts of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1600; The Detroit Institute of Arts [Exhibition] November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959</em>. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1958.",
"page_number": "p. 80, no. 189"
},
{
"citation": "Viale Ferrero, Mercedes. <em>Arazzi italiani</em>. Milano: Electa editrice, 1962.",
"page_number": "p. 13, pl. 4"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 83",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n107"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 83",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n107"
},
{
"citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 96",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n116"
},
{
"citation": "Campbell, Stephen J., Cosmè Tura, Luke Syson, and Alan Chong. <em>Cosmè Tura: Painting and Design in Renaissance Ferrara</em>. Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2002.",
"page_number": "cat. no. 20, pp. 259–262"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.145",
"creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
"updatedAt": "2026-05-29 06:33:45.397000",
"imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.145/1950.145_print.jpg",
"sourceId": 127459,
"dept": "Textiles",
"coll": "Textiles",
"med": "Wool, silk, gold and silver threads",
"creatorTags": [
"male",
"gender unknown"
],
"thumbnail_url": null,
"image_url": null
}
Page context
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