Crucifix (front)
by GIOTTO di Bondone, Tempera on wood, 223 x 164 cm
This Crucifix (now in the Museo Civico) was painted by Giotto for the Arena Chapel in Padua. It displays a striking similarity to the frescoed Crucifixion in the right transept of the Lower Church of San Francesco at Assisi.
Represented on the recto is the Christus patiens, that is, with his eyes closed and in a state of abandon on the arms of the cross. On the extremities of the cross are: above, God the Father; on the left, the Virgin; on the right, St John; and on the foot of the cross, the skull symbolizing Golgotha.