Anonymous Flemish Sculptor, The Lamentation and the Pietà
1480-89
Chapter house, Cathedral of St. Savior, Oviedo, Spain
Mary sits in the center with her son's body on her lap. Behind her stand two women who are probably her cousins Mary Salomé and Mary the wife of Alpheus. In the group to the right, Mary Magdalene holds her attribute, the jar of ointment. The kneeling figure on the left is Juan de Candamo, the architect of the cathedral from 1458-89. The woman kneeling on the right is his wife, Catalina Gonzaléz de Nava.
The arms of the two thieves are wrenched back over the crosspieces, a feature of Flemish and German Crucifixion images in the 15th century. The thief who Jesus said would be in Heaven that day has the look of a handsome youth, while the other's face is worn and bearded.
The portraits of the angels seem drawn from different traditions. The one on the left just below the crosspiece holds a cup, as if he were still gathering the blood from Jesus wounds. Below him, the angel has a scourge, one of the arma Christi that angels carry to Heaven in "Death of Jesus" images. I'm not sure what those angels on the right are about.
View this image in full resolution.
Read more about The Lamentation and Pietà.
Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.