The Crucifixion

When he approached the traditional Christian subject of The Passion, he did not want to simply follow the precedents set by the Old Masters, instead deciding to replace the human figure. His intention was to use the skeletons to draw our attention to life and its absence, to remind us of the drama and the fragility of life. Either oblivious or indifferent to the shock these paintings would have on the public, Delvaux submitted them to the 27th Venice Biennial in 1954. The Patriarch of Venice, (who would later become Pope John XXIII) was horrified when he saw the paintings, denouncing them as blasphemous.

In the 1950s Delvaux painted a series of religious paintings on the subject of the Passion of Christ. In this image, Christ is depicted as a skeleton on the cross between two other crucified skeletons. Below the skeletons gather the armored centurions. The skeleton of Christ is illuminated in bright light, but all the other figures are in shadow. 

This work is oil on wood and is housed in the Royal Beaux-Arts Museum in Brussels