The Lamentation

First published as by Vermeyen by Eric Löffler in 2005 (op. cit.), this is a recent addition to an oeuvre which consists of only a handful of drawings by the artist. With its tightly-knit cross-hatching to create depth and volume, it is closely comparable to the Portrait of an old woman in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest and the Woman at a Spinet of 1545 in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (respectively H.J. Horn, Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen, Doornspijk, 1989, no. A101; and Löffler, op. cit., fig. 2). Similarities can also be observed in Vermeyen's etchings of the same date: the compact composition and facial types are close to those in The Spanish Brothel, which is dated 1545 (Hollstein 4), and Extreme Unction, from the same period (Hollstein 2). However, Löffler suggests that the present drawing is likely to date from a slightly earlier stage in Vermeyen's career, perhaps circa 1532, shortly before the artist's supposed trip to Italy. There are similar hairstyles and comparably exaggerated anatomical proportions in the Holy Family by the Fire (circa 1530; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), while the Virgin's robes in the present drawing are executed in a similar spirit to those in the etching Mulay Hasan and his Retinue at a Feast (circa 1535; Löffler, op. cit., fig. 4). This early date gives the drawing extra significance, as a valuable insight into Vermeyen's draughtsmanship at a period from which no other drawings are currently known.

We are grateful to Professor Dr Hendrik J. Horn for endorsing both the attribution to Vermeyen, and the dating of the present drawing to circa 1545, on the basis of a digital image.