The Crucifixion

Originally, this painting had an arched top, the contour of which can still be traced in the different appearance of the gilding, which shows that the corners were added much later to transform the panel into a rectangle. Changes like this underscore the fact that early Italian paintings were experienced very differently by their contemporaries than by today’s museum-goers, who are accustomed to single, usually rectangular, paintings hanging by themselves on pristine walls. When artists made these works hundreds of years ago, most were part of altarpieces, and their gold surfaces would have been seen in the flicker of candlelight. Given its shape and small size (some 15 inches high), this panel was probably centered at the top of a triptych (see The Crucifixion).

Paolo Veneziano (Venetian, active 1333 - 1358) was the most prominent painter in Venice in the 14th century and exerted a lasting influence there. He and his sons were commissioned to paint panels to cover the magnificent high altar called the Pala d’Oro in Saint Mark’s Basilica, one of the city’s greatest treasures. Concealed behind Paolo’s wooden altarpiece, the Pala—which consisted of gold and enameled plaques from Byzantium framed with pearls and jewels—was visible only on feast days; Church leadership needed something beautiful and instructive for parishioners to view the remainder of the year. Being awarded this important commission is an indication of the status of Paolo and his workshop.

Paolo’s art combined Byzantine and Western European elements in terms of the settings and biblical narratives he chose and in his artistic style. This panel, for example, shows the Crucifixion taking place before the crenellated walls of Jerusalem. Fluttering angels collect Christ’s blood, and the skull of Adam lies buried beneath the rock of Golgotha. All of these details are found in Byzantine representations. The swooning Virgin and kneeling Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, are derived from Western European depictions. In terms of style, Paolo’s painting straddles the two traditions, combining the abstraction of Byzantine icons with the softer modeling and more dynamic poses found in the art of the West.