Artwork
The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret
The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Cornelis Engebrechtsz.. It dates from 1525 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the Crucifixion of Christ accompanied by Saints Peter and Margaret, with two donor figures, a woman and a man, likely the patrons who commissioned the work. As a religious genre piece, the scene serves a devotional purpose, positioning the saints as intercessors and the donors as exemplars of piety, thereby linking the sacred narrative with the viewers’ own spiritual aspirations.
Technique & Style
The work’s formal qualities are defined by its balanced spatial arrangement and the crisp delineation of figures, characteristic of the artist’s style.
The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a technique typical of early‑16th‑century Netherlandish practice. The painting measures 61.5 cm in height by 89.5 cm in width, as recorded in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s catalog. Engebrechtsz.’s handling of light and composition reflects a conventional religious imagery of the period, while the use of oil on panel allows for fine detail and rich colour modulation.
The work’s formal qualities are defined by its balanced spatial arrangement and the crisp delineation of figures, characteristic of the artist’s style.
History & Provenance
The work titled The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret was painted by Cornelis Engebrechtsz. in 1525 as an oil on panel composition. Its creation is documented in contemporary records that specify the year 1525 and the dimensions 61.5 × 89.5 cm. The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on public display, indicating its modern ownership chain. No explicit commission documentation is recorded; the work is classified as religious art and was produced as a devotional piece for an unidentified patron.
The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work is inventoried as accession number 1975.1.112, where it remains in the museum’s holdings. As of the documented sources, the painting has no recorded exhibition history beyond its permanent collection status.
Overview
This oil painting, The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret, presents the pivotal Christian narrative of Christ's crucifixion. The central figure on the cross is encircled by a diverse assembly of individuals, establishing a complex visual field. The artwork integrates both sacred figures and contemporary patrons, whose presence is denoted by their prominent placement within the scene.
A somber atmosphere is conveyed through the dark sky and the varied emotional responses depicted among the onlookers.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis Engebrechtsz., also known as Cornelis Engelbrechtsz. (c.1462–1527) was an early Dutch painter. He was born and died in Leiden, and is considered the first important painter from that city. Engebrechtsz. taught…
Christ on the cross with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalen, and Sts Cecilia and Barbara (left), and Sts Peter, Francis and Jerome (right)
Crucifixion with the Virgin, Mary Magdalen and St John the Evangelist
The Baptism of Christ
Ss Cecilia,Mary Magdalene with donatrix,lamentation flanked by other six Sorrows of Mary, Ss James Great,Martin of Tours an Augustine monk
