Christ on the Cross
This remarkable object engages debates about the merits of painting versus sculpture by asking how painters might address the back of a well-known subject with as much attention as the front. Slack folds of skin animate bodily symmetry, and tensed hands communicate pain. On the reverse, blood trails through the nails that pierce the cross, and slivers of Christ’s hip and arms are visible. Cecco was a favorite model of Caravaggio before becoming a painter.
Artwork Details
- Title: Christ on the Cross
- Artist: Cecco del Caravaggio (Francesco Buoneri) (born ca. 1588/90–after 1620)
- Date: ca. 1615–20
- Medium: Oil on wood
- Dimensions: 22 13/16 × 15 3/8 in. (58 × 39 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.359
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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Returned to lender
Cecco del Caravaggio (Francesco Buoneri)
ca. 1611–13
Bartholomeus Breenbergh
1634
Salomon van Ruysdael
early 1650s
Peter Paul Rubens
Jan Brueghel the Elder
ca. 1615
Jan van Goyen
1646
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