Jesus' Crucifixion In Art

The symbol of Christ on the cross has infiltrated culture in innumerable ways, and depictions have become ubiquitous. There is no other subject matter that better reflects the historical progression of artistic expression. This is fitting, as there is no other event that has had comparable effect on all aspects of human history.

"Pieta"
Artist: Giovanni Bellini
1460
Painting

Pieta depicts the dead body of Christ being held up by Mary and Joseph. His wounds from the sword and his crucifixion are still fresh. The three figures are positioned in the central foreground with an obscured (by the three figures) rural landscape unwinding behind them.

This painting is Tempera on Panel and is housed in the Pinacoteca Brera, in Milan, Italy.

"The Resurrection"
Artist: Piero della Francesca
1460-65
Painting

Originally painted on the wall of the civic hall in Piero's hometown of Borgo San Sepolcro, this fresco was hailed a century later by Giorgio Vasari as Piero's best work. It shows four soldiers sleeping in front of the tomb of Christ, as he climbs up onto it after his resurrection. This painting was particularly important to the town, since it is connected to its founding myth. Two pilgrims from the Holy Land supposedly fell asleep by a tree, much like the soldiers in the painting, and upon awakening they found that the stone they had brought back from the tomb of Christ had miraculously risen up into the tree. They decided to found a town at that spot, named Borgo San Sepolcro after the Holy Sepulchre (tomb of Christ). Piero's Christ was eventually incorporated into the town's coat of arms.

This Fresco is in the Museo Civico, Sansepolcro, Italy

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