Piedad with Canon Lluís Desplà

The Pietà with Canon Desplà is an oil painting on panel that Bartolomé Bermejo completed in 1490 for the archdeacon Lluís Desplà, who intended it for his private chapel. The inscription on the original frame, probably added later, records the patron's name, the year of execution and the painter's Córdoba origin. Bermejo was an itinerant artist who had competed in Barcelona in 1486 for the organ doors of Santa María del Mar. The scene brings together the Virgin holding Christ's body on her lap, Saint Jerome reading the Vulgate on the left and the kneeling canon on the right, in an attitude of devotion. The work shows Flemish influence, especially from Bruges, although it is unclear whether Bermejo travelled there. Restorations between 2015 and 2017 revealed hidden vegetation, and researchers at the University of Barcelona identified 73 species, many invented or impossible to find together in one place, suggesting a symbolic programme rather than a real landscape. Its many details, from the ailanthus tree to the lion with a fly on its forehead, have prompted varied readings, all open to debate.

Painter

Bartolomé Bermejo

Date

1490

Medium

oil paint

Dimensions

175 × 189 cm

Museum

Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona

Movement

Renaissance

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Jesus Christ

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