Jacopo di Cione, 'The Crucifixion', about 1369-70
About the work
Overview
This picture is unusual in Italian painting of this period in showing so much detail from the Gospel accounts of Christ’s crucifixion in one relatively small panel. Such images were usually reserved for large wall paintings. Christ is shown on the Cross between the two thieves who were crucified with him. Below, the Virgin Mary collapsing in grief is supported by Mary Magdalene, recognisable by her red robes and long red hair. Saint John the Evangelist stands slightly apart from them, raising his hand to his face in grief.
Saints Benedict and Bernard, the founders of the Cistercian Order, flank the Virgin and Child in the roundels below the main scene. The prominent position of women in the scene – particularly Mary Magdalene – and the inclusion of two female saints in the roundels indicates that the original location may have been a nunnery. This was possibly Santa Maria Maddalena di Cestello, the Cistercian nunnery dedicated to Mary Magdalene in Florence.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Crucifixion
- Artist
- Jacopo di Cione
- Artist dates
- documented 1365; died 1398 -1400
- Date made
- about 1369-70
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 154 × 138.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by the Revd Jarvis Holland Ash, 1896
- Inventory number
- NG1468
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 14th-century Florentine Frame (original frame)
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
More works by Jacopo di Cione
