Giovanni Bellini
Lamentation of Christ

Cat:

Oh, how impressive! Look at the fine hatching and stippling – they make the figures, their faces and robes look quite lifelike. Hmm, but... has the painter forgotten to add colour here? Or is this a preliminary drawing that he was going to copy?

Mouse:

I have no clue. Maybe neither?

Cat:

But I thought you were our "workshop mouse" and were in the room when these pictures were being painted.

Mouse:

So I was. At Vittore Carpaccio's workshop. But this painting is from Giovanni Bellini's workshop ... and ... he probably has a different mouse living there.

Cat:

Oh, great!

Mouse:

But look over there!

Cat:

Where?

Mouse:

On the opposite wall. The picture hanging there is similar, but it's in colour. Hold on while I just nip across!

Cat:

Hey, don't be in such a rush! ... Rats – where has it gone off to now?

Mouse:

Here, in the picture opposite. It's also got a lot of people standing around Jesus, who has just died. They all look quite sad and one man – the one on the far right – he's giving us a very piercing look. 

I'll go and ask him what's going on, shall I? See you soon... or later... or sometime, Moggy!

Cat:

There it was, gone. Again. Vanished into the picture. But I could have given it the answer. That's Jesus in the middle. He's dead and has just been taken down from the cross. According to Christian belief, he died on the cross to redeem all human beings from death and from their sins. The people around him are his friends and his mother Mary. The man on the far right is John, and he is showing us a wound on Jesus's hand. And if you compare the figures in the two pictures... in the one with colours and the one without... there are in fact quite a few similarities. 

So did this Giovanni Bellini also copy his own work? Or at least paint a few really good ideas several times?

Hmm... I bet the workshop mouse could have found out somehow. But now it's disappeared into the picture – time travelling again...

Meow! Well, never mind. The exhibition has come to an end anyway. Which is why I'm heading out into the entrance hall, where I'll be making myself comfortable on a bench by the window. 

What about you? It was nice of you to come along. And who knows, maybe we'll meet Mousey again in the next exhibition? I'll certainly keep my eyes peeled and maybe – pounce! – I'll manage to catch that cheeky little mouse next time.

Bye now, and take care!