Artwork
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an oil painting. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a work of religious art, the subject carries the traditional symbolic weight of the Passion: Christ's sacrifice and death as the means of human redemption.
The painting depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the central event of Christian iconography in which Christ is shown affixed to the cross. As a work of religious art, the subject carries the traditional symbolic weight of the Passion: Christ's sacrifice and death as the means of human redemption. The work belongs to the long-established genre of crucifixion imagery, in which the figure of Christ serves both as a devotional focus and as an emblem of suffering, divine love, and salvation.
Painted in oil on canvas and produced in Spain in 1849, the image reflects the enduring Iberian tradition of devotional crucifixion imagery, in which the subject functions simultaneously as a narrative representation of the Gospel account and as a symbol of faith intended for contemplation and veneration.
Technique & Style
The Crucifixion is executed in oil paint on canvas, a medium consistent with mid-nineteenth-century Spanish religious painting. The work is a modestly scaled panel, measuring 60.3 cm in height by 40.0 cm in width, suggesting an intimate devotional format rather than a monumental altarpiece. Its classification as a painting and its religious genre situate it within a tradition of devotional imagery, with the crucifixion of Jesus as the principal subject.
The canvas support and oil medium would have allowed for the layered modelling and tonal depth typical of devotional works of this period, though no further details of handling, condition, or stylistic specifics are recorded in the available documentation.
History & Provenance
The painting titled Crucifixion was created in 1849 in Spain. It is an oil-on-canvas work measuring 60.3 by 40.0 centimetres. The artist remains unknown, with the piece catalogued under the accession number 1950.345 at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Currently, the work is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. While the specific commission details and the original ownership chain prior to its acquisition are not detailed in the available records, the work's inception is firmly dated to 1849. The painting depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and is classified as religious art.
Overview
This oil painting, titled Crucifixion, depicts a solitary figure affixed to a cross. The central subject, a man with outstretched arms, dominates the composition against a somber backdrop. The artwork employs a dramatic contrast between light and shadow to emphasize the figure, drawing the viewer's attention to the intensity of the scene.
Artist & collection
