Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels

Veronese’s images of the Lamentation (he painted several versions of this subject) often convey a haunting reminder of a happy world, thereby increasing the pathos of the Passion. In this painting the heightened sensibility is achieved by the shocking contrast between flashes of elegant drapery (the angels’ suavely tinted attire) and Christ still-beautiful, abused flesh. Such calculated inconsistency can make suffering far more moving than a more predictable, uniform pall.