GALLEGO, Fernando
(b. ca. 1440, Salamanca, d. 1507, Salamanca)

Pietà

c. 1470
Tempera on panel, 118 x 122 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

The composition of this painting shows a strong influence of Flemish painting especially of Rogier van der Weyden. It is visible particularly in the rigid pose of Christ's body and the sorrowful expression of the Virgin, and in the landscape with its carefully depicted town. There is no perspective in the background but the buildings symbolizing Jerusalem are very realistic. The fantastic rock formations and minute donors are not specifically Netherlandish but typical of altarpieces all over Europe in the Late Middle Ages.