The Lamentation of Christ, miniature taken from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier., Jean Fouquet, circa 1452-1460

At the foot of the cross, the virgin holds the body of christ on her knees and raises her arms to the sky while saint john, saint mary magdalene and the holy women are in prayer and behind them, nicodemus and joseph of arimathea. In the background stands notre-dame cathedral in paris and a parisian landscape in front of hills. In the foreground, two angels hold the instruments of the passion at the foot of an open and empty tomb and hold a cartouche in which is a letter "s" and the inscription "maistre estienne ch[eva]l[ie]r" and the beginning of a text now hidden. This miniature illustrated the beginning of the prayer of the stabat mater. Object Type: book of hours, illuminated manuscript. Genre: religious art. Date: circa 1452-1460. Place of creation: Tours. Dimensions: height: 16.5 cm (6.4 in); width: 12 cm (4.7 in). Medium: illumination on parchment. Collection: Condé Museum. Heures d'Étienne Chevalier - Déploration du Christ