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The Crucifixion

A work made of oil on panel.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on panel.

Date:

1538

Artist:

Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472–1553)

About this artwork

In this crowded scene, traditional vignettes from the Crucifixion story surround the central figure of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus’s mother, the Virgin Mary, swoons amid a group of believers in the lower left corner. On the other side of the cross are Christ’s condemners and the cynics who rejected him, among them the soldiers who cast dice to divide up his clothing. Cranach was a good friend of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, and though the Crucifixion was a subject more strongly associated with Catholics, Cranach included details that reinforce the Protestant emphasis on the power of faith and individual responsibility—for instance, the figure of the young boy learning from an older man at the foot of the central cross.

Status

On View, Gallery 207

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Title

The Crucifixion

Place

Germany (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1538

Medium

Oil on panel

Inscriptions

Inscribed: [device of serpent with lowered wings] / 153[8] (on cross)

Dimensions

121.1 × 82.5 cm (47 3/4 × 32 1/2 in.); Framed: 147.4 × 109 × 7.7 cm (58 × 42 7/8 × 3 in.)

Credit Line

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection

Reference Number

1947.62

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/59856/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

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