Crucifixion

In this Venetian gold-ground painting of the Crucifixion, Christ, larger in scale than the other figures, looms alone in the center of the composition. His body is the pictorial equivalent of the wafer that becomes the Body of Christ during Holy Communion (the painting probably originally was part of an altarpiece, displayed on or behind a church altar). On Christ’s right, Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot of the cross, while St. John the Evangelist stands to her left. Behind them, the Virgin Mary swoons in grief. On horseback, the Roman soldier Longinus holds his hands together in prayer of recognition. On Christ’s left are figures who did not recognize his divinity. Stephaton, standing beside the cross, cruelly offers Christ a vinegar-soaked sponge to quench his thirst. Seated on a white horse and gesturing with a mace, the Roman centurion orders his soldiers to break Christ’s legs (Christ died before the order was carried out). At the lower right two soldiers cast dice for Christ’s robe.

The chromatic richness of Jacobello del Fiore’s coloring—reds paired with oranges, pinks with lavenders, pale greens with light blues—foreshadows the accomplishments of the later Venetian Renaissance (see Gallery 22).