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.

"The Mond Crucifixion"
Artist: Raphael
1502
Painting

Raphael's The Mond Crucifixion, painted between 1502 and 1503, includes an intricately detailed landscape in the background, showing his use of perspective, which distinguishes him from artists of the Trecento. Flanking him are two angels catching his blood in chalices, as well as the figures of the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, Saint Jerome and John the Evangelist. Raphael's signature is inscribed into the foot of Christ's cross.

"The Crucifixion"
Artist: Juan de Flandes
1509 - 1519
Painting

In his depiction of the historic image of the Crucifixion on the central panel of Palencia Cathedral’s main altarpiece, Juan de Flandes chose the iconographic type that Réau calls de grand spectacle, which was appropriate for the panel’s large dimensions and horizontal format, and undoubtedly the one preferred by the painter’s client. Here, he reduced that type to its essential elements, a customary approach for this Flemish painter, and one that is even more accentuated in this work from late in his career, where the large size of the figures requires including less of them in the composition.

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