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Although this triptych is traditionally attributed to Pieter Coecke, after examining the technical documentation-and especially the infrared reflectography-it is essential to conduct a more in-depth study of it. This is necessitated by the differences between the underlying drawings of the works ascribed to Coecke, as well as the surface of the painting, since his studio actively participated in them, especially those meant for the local and international markets. However, based on a preliminary assessment, we can see that the drawing of the triptych in Bilbao has many features in common with the drawing on Coecke's panels Saint John the Evangelist and Saint James the Greater with Donors in Prayer at the Museo del Prado, which were published in the exhibition catalogue of The Hidden Line (2006).

Trained with Barend van Orley in Brussels, as reported by Carel van Mander in his Schilderboeck (The Book of Painters, 1604), Coecke borrowed models from his fatherin- law Jan van Dornicke. Registered in the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp since 1527, he was a painter of Charles V and Mary of Hungary and oversaw one of the most active ateliers until his death in 1550.

Even though the theme that he repeated in his triptychs the most often was the Adoration of the Wise Men, this painting reflects the typology used by Coecke. The Lamentation over the Dead Christ appears in the central panel before a landscape that continues on the side panels. Christ is lying atop a shroud, far from Calvary, which is visible in the background on the right, separated from Jerusalem by a steep peak. The way Coecke translated both nature and figures with loose brushstrokes is unique. In the foreground, the torso of dead Christ, in a forced pose propped up on his right arm with his left arm draped over John's leg, is partly upright, held up by Nicodemus. Mary, stricken by grief, is grasping the veil covering her head. The half-kneeling Saint John holds the Virgin and turns his face towards the richly dressed holy woman-Mary of Clopas, perhaps?-as Mary Magdalene is often portrayed. The golden vessel at the feet of this figure near the right panel, whose landscape it shares, could identify her as Mary Magdalene were it not for the fact that on that side panel Mary Magdalene is indeed portrayed with the same attitude as in Weyden's Descent from the Cross (c. 1435) at the Prado. Only the clothing is different, following the fashion of that period. On the left panel, Joseph of Arimathea is holding the crown of thorns, one of the arma Christi, next to the washbasin with the sponge and the nails on the central panel. [Pilar Silva Maroto]

Selected bibliography

• Plasencia, Antonio. Catálogo de las obras de pintura y escultura del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Imprenta Provincial, 1932. p. 64, n° cat. 291. (Con el título El Descendimiento, y como Anónimo flamenco del siglo XVI)
• Lasterra, Crisanto de. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : catálogo descriptivo : sección de arte antiguo. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1969. pp. 27-28, n° cat. 60. (Con el título El Descendimiento, y atribuido a Pietre Coecke)
• Bengoechea, Javier de. Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao. Bilbao, La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1978. p. 115.
• Bermejo, Elisa. "Pinturas inéditas de Pieter Coecke conservadas en España", Archivo Español de Arte, n° 214. 1981. pp. 113-142.
• Gómez Prieto, Julia. Bizkaia-Vizcaya. Madrid, Everest, 1991. p. 78.
• Castañer López, Xesqui. Pinturas y pintores flamencos, holandeses y alemanes en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa, 1995. pp. 91-94.
• Sánchez-Lassa de los Santos, Ana. "Laureano de Jadorenondareko pintura flandestarra = Pintura Flamenca en el Legado Laureano de Jado", Guía de Exposiciones, n° 277. 1998.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 31.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 31.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 31.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 31, n° cat. 17.
• Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 31, n° cat. 17.
• Diéguez Rodríguez, Ana. Precisiones al Catálogo de la Pintura Flamenca del siglo XVI en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [inédito]. 2013. pp. 160-165, n° cat. 26. (atribuido al Taller de Barend van Orley)
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 31.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 31.
• 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 56-57, sin n° cat.
• 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 56-57, sin n° cat.
• 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 56-57, sin n° cat.
• 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 56-57, sin n° cat.