Christ on the Cross
by ZURBARÁN, Francisco de, Oil on canvas, 212 x 163 cm
This monumental picture, signed and dated at the foot of the cross, represents Christ on the Cross with the Virgin, Mary Magdalen and St John the Evangelist. It is a late masterpiece by Zurbar�n, painted in Seville towards the end of his career. The picture is an outstanding example of the artist’s late style, the only known treatment of the crucifixion by the master to include the figures of the Virgin, Mary Magdalen and St John at the foot of the Cross.
Some eleven other treatments of The Crucifixion by Zurbar�n are known today, ranging in date from his painting of 1627 in the Art Institute, Chicago, to the celebrated Artist before Christ on the Cross, datable to around 1655-60, in the Prado, Madrid.