Crucifixion; Artist Unknown (ca. 1490)
Spanish, Artist Unknown
Active Salamanca, Late 15th Century
Crucifixion, ca. 1490
Tempera and gold on panel
In this large, crowded depiction of the Crucifixion, Christ's mother, Mary, faints in the arms of John the Evangelist. Christ's suffering and the Virgin's compassion are the dominant themes of this altarpiece, but the painting is also filled with jostling horses and soldiers who vie for the attention of the viewer. The centurion Longinus pierces Christ's side with a spear, while at right, one of the thieves who was crucified with Christ laughs as he offers his soul to a demon. The painting's gilded and punched surface and its lavishly costumed figures are typical of the International Gothic style, but its devotional emphasis and sympathetic characterizations denote the important influence of Netherlandish painting in Spain. The artist's misunderstanding of scale, visible in the diminished size of the guards who fight over Christ's cloak, indicates that he may have been working from several printed or painted models at once. Unpainted areas in the upper corners of the panel suggest that its original frame had a curved inner edge and that it was the center panel of a larger altarpiece.
Taken November 16th, 2010.
Crucifixion; Artist Unknown (ca. 1490)
Spanish, Artist Unknown
Active Salamanca, Late 15th Century
Crucifixion, ca. 1490
Tempera and gold on panel
In this large, crowded depiction of the Crucifixion, Christ's mother, Mary, faints in the arms of John the Evangelist. Christ's suffering and the Virgin's compassion are the dominant themes of this altarpiece, but the painting is also filled with jostling horses and soldiers who vie for the attention of the viewer. The centurion Longinus pierces Christ's side with a spear, while at right, one of the thieves who was crucified with Christ laughs as he offers his soul to a demon. The painting's gilded and punched surface and its lavishly costumed figures are typical of the International Gothic style, but its devotional emphasis and sympathetic characterizations denote the important influence of Netherlandish painting in Spain. The artist's misunderstanding of scale, visible in the diminished size of the guards who fight over Christ's cloak, indicates that he may have been working from several printed or painted models at once. Unpainted areas in the upper corners of the panel suggest that its original frame had a curved inner edge and that it was the center panel of a larger altarpiece.
Taken November 16th, 2010.