This painting depicts a classic Crucifixion of Jesus with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist at the foot of the cross.
In the center is the crucified Christ surmounted by the scroll with the inscription "INRI". On the left we see the sorrowful Madonna with her hands clasped in prayer, wrapped in a dark cloak, while on the right St. John the Evangelist is portrayed with his gaze turned upwards and a bright red cloak.
The symmetrical arrangement of the mourners on the sides of the cross recalls a very strong Renaissance and counter-reformist iconographic tradition. The structure of Christ's slender body and the contained drama of the faces refer to the Tuscan-Roman models of the late 16th century, strongly influenced by the famous drawings of the Crucifixion made by Michelangelo Buonarroti for Vittoria Colonna (compositions popular at the time by artists such as Marcello Venusti or Scipione Pulzone).
This is probably a work attributable to the Italian School (probably Tuscan or Emilian) dating back to between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The small size and the support suggest that it was a painting intended for private or domestic devotion.
The painting is in excellent condition, has a re-cloth but shows no pictorial restorations.
size h.27.5 X L.19 CM
In the center is the crucified Christ surmounted by the scroll with the inscription "INRI". On the left we see the sorrowful Madonna with her hands clasped in prayer, wrapped in a dark cloak, while on the right St. John the Evangelist is portrayed with his gaze turned upwards and a bright red cloak. The symmetrical arrangement of the mourners on the sides of the cross recalls a very strong Renaissance and counter-reformist iconographic tradition. The structure of Christ's slender body and the contained drama of the faces refer to the Tuscan-Roman models of the late 16th century, strongly influenced by the famous drawings of the Crucifixion made by Michelangelo Buonarroti for Vittoria Colonna (compositions popular at the time by artists such as Marcello Venusti or Scipione Pulzone). This is