The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John
Although painted in the seventeenth century, Ter Brugghen’s scene of Christ’s crucifixion draws on the dramatic, emotional appeal of earlier religious art to inspire the private prayers of a Catholic viewer. The Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist, who flank the cross, provide surrogates for the viewer’s agonized beholding of the crucifixion. The rigorous symmetry of the composition; the flat, star-studded sky; and Christ’s contorted body, with blood streaming from his wounds, intentionally refer to the work of early-sixteenth-century German artists, who were coveted by collectors in Ter Brugghen’s day.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John
- Artist: Hendrick ter Brugghen (Dutch, The Hague? 1588–1629 Utrecht)
- Date: ca. 1624–25
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 61 in. × 40 1/4 in. (154.9 × 102.2 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Funds from various donors, 1956
- Object Number: 56.228
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
Audio
5103. The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John
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