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.

"Christ On The Cross"
Artist: Eugene Delacroix
1835
Painting

Delacroix depicts a moment from the Crucifixion, recounted in the Gospel of John (19: 25–30), when Christ speaks to his mother, the Virgin Mary, and one of his disciples, John, just before he dies. Christ’s mother, dressed in blue and yellow robes, collapses into the arms of Mary Cleophas and John. At the foot of the cross, Mary Magdalene prays as she looks up at Christ. Unusually, Delacroix also includes Judas Iscariot in the lower right corner.

Delacroix places us among the group at the foot of the Cross, as we too look up at Christ’s body. The use of colour is especially powerful as the greenish-grey pallor of Christ’s body is echoed by the greys and pinkish-browns of the stormy sky. The agitated brushwork combines expressive energy with the immediacy of a sketch.

"Pieta"
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau
1876
Painting

This is a large-scale interpretation of the classic Pietà theme, showing the Virgin Mary mourning the body of Christ. At the center of the composition, consumed by her black veil, Mary cradles her child, entreating the viewer to pity with her gaze. Golden aureoles, resembling the gold-leaf details on Renaissance icons and altar-work, surround the heads of the two central figures, while a group of mourning angels encircles the scene, echoing the central compositional shapes.

This oil on canvas is in a private collection

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