Fra Angelico 1387 – 1455

The Crucifixion

tempera on panel (64 × 48 cm) — c. 1420–23 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Fra Angelico biography

This work is linked to John 19:25

An exquisite panel by Fra Angelico, made with a gold ground.

Seated on horses Roman soldiers form a circle around the cross. In the foreground, Christ's mother Mary has fainted.

Next to the cross is a man holding a stick with a spunge. According to a tradition, the spunge was soaked in vinager and then offered to Jesus.

Blood can be seen dripping along Christ's arms. Several angels are flying around him.

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