Anonymous - Crucifixion

One of the most popular iconographies throughout the history of Western art, the Crucifixion has its origins in the early Christian era, later developing over the centuries into the most recent expressions of contemporary art. The traditional iconography of Jesus on the cross has countless variants, ranging from the simplest, featuring only the crucified Jesus Christ, to the version accompanied by the “mourners,” the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist. During the Middle Ages, Crucifixion scenes became increasingly elaborate: the crosses of the thieves were added, and gradually more figures were included until they became the setting for large-scale group scenes. They are often also accompanied by symbolic elements such as, for example, the presence
of the sun and the moon or the skull of Adam beneath Christ’s cross (signifying the redemptive power of Christ’s Passion in relation to original sin). In the work in question, the simplest iconography is presented, featuring only the crucified Christ against a wide landscape background.

The analysis of this small panel painting should be conducted by keeping the two aspects of formal rendering and technique separate. Regarding the former, we can say that the artist intended to achieve a perfect naturalistic rendering of the subject. We see this first of all in the care and precision with which Christ’s body is depicted. His anatomy is outlined with a remarkable sense of plasticity, allowing us to clearly perceive the form of the skeleton and musculature, rendered with great fidelity. The play of shadows is also skillfully orchestrated to emphasize the volume of the crucified Christ’s body. Likewise, the subject’s face and his contrite expression, imbued with a quiet sorrow, convey an artistic conception rooted in an idealized naturalistic rendering of intimate, personal religious feeling. The same sense of nature that guides the artist in the anatomical description is also evident in the landscape background he creates to set the scene for this Crucifixion. We can discern this in the way the landscape unfolds across a small portion of the painting, receding toward the horizon in a harmonious succession of slopes. Much of the background, however, is occupied by a sky darkened by blackish clouds, illuminated by flashes of lightning. Meanwhile, a much stronger light strikes Christ’s body, casting a golden glow over its volumes, especially to his right. Yet all these elements of pronounced naturalism are rendered by the artist with an extremely rapid technique, executed with speed and immediacy. The paintwork is indeed vibrant and dynamic, almost dramatic in its fluidity. To achieve this sense of vitality, the artist uses an impressionistic brushstroke that, in contrast to the naturalistic approach guiding his hand, almost dissolves the forms. In this way, the entire work takes on a character of immediacy and vitality that makes its execution all the more compelling.

Iconographic analysis of the work does not make it possible to precisely identify the artist. However, through stylistic analysis, we can discern the distinctive painterly personality of its creator. As we have seen, the artist’s pictorial language is linked to the great naturalism that shaped painting throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We have also identified a certain devotional quality, an intimate religiosity that should be contextualized within the production of religious art following the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and thus in the seventeenth century. The same dramatic tones that characterize the rendering of the landscape background and the flashing sky also suggest this period. However, considering the technique used, it is necessary to date the work to the eighteenth century, given the freedom with which the artist employs his rapid, impressionistic brushwork. The soft light illuminating Christ’s body is also typically eighteenth-century, guiding the work’s color toward the chiaroscuro of the late Baroque. Furthermore, this type of execution is consistent with the character of the work: a small panel intended for private use, to which the sketch-like quality of the paintwork is perfectly suited.

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