The Crucifixion

Notably, this work prioritizes symmetry. On each side of Christ, there is a figure on either side: two angels directly below his arms collect blood in chalices, the Virgin Mary and a male figure stand below. Two women kneel on either side of the cross: Sister Felicity the patroness and, likely, Mary Magdalene (who was also present at the Crucifixion in the New Testament). While these pairs of figures mirror one another, the figures do not appear to interact with one another. Rather, each gazes at Christ and acts in relation to his presence. This isolation from their surroundings demonstrates Uccello's choice to prioritize each figure's spiritual communication and connection to Christ.

Constructed in a three-paneled triptych, in this painting, the artist includes many significant figures present at the Crucifixion as noted in the New Testament and of particular significance to the triptych's patron, Sister Felicity, a Bridgettine nun who lived at the convent, Santa Maria del Paradiso, close to Florence. 

In the center panel, Christ is on the crucifix with the Virgin Mary standing to her son's right (our left). The work's current custodian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, notes that the kneeling woman at the Virgin Mary's feet is likely Sister Felicity herself, for whom the work was made for her private devotional purposes. The woman in the white habit on the left panel is likely Saint Bridget of Sweden, the founder of the Bridgettine order of nuns and monks. Saint Bridget is also significant to the Crucifixion scene as she is known for having visions of Christ on the cross as a child (as well-as visions of the Nativity). The Nativity is in fact depicted in the right-hand panel in which the Virgin holds the infant Christ. The upper register of panels on both the right and left depict the Annunciation: the Angel Gabriel (on the left, winged, with red robes) tells the Virgin (seated in dark shroud on the right) that she would give birth to the Son of God. Depictions of the Virgin Mary and Christ featuring multiple times in a single work is not unusual in Early Renaissance artwork where asynchronous scenes were accepted practice.

This work is tempera on wood, gold ground. It is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art  in NY City.