Title
Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John the EvangelistDate1390s
MediumTempera and gold leaf on wood panel
Dimensions
37 x 31 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1968
Object numberNGI.1843
DescriptionA calm and rhythmic composition expresses the dramatic event in the classical manner. Christ's dead body hangs limply on the Cross. To the left his Mother points towards her Son, indicating his sacrifice. To the rigth St John is plunged into grief while two angels are weeping in the sky. Behind the figures are the walls of Jerusalem. Ingeniously, the artist has tried to give some sort of perspective to the Cross, but the overall scene remains two-dimensional.Byzantine icons are sometimes difficult to date because of their frequent repetition of canonical images. This is the case of our panel, which may be presumed to have been painted at the end of the 14th century.
(National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2008)
ProvenancePurchased, Mr W.E.D. Allen, 1968 Exhibition HistoryKunst der Ostkirche, Stift Herzogenburg, Vienna, 7 May - 30 October 1977
Label TextAs he was dying on the cross, Christ entrusted his mother to Saint John the Evangelist. The theme was suited to small paintings for private devotion and was taken up by the Church in Italy. The emotions of all three figures are restrained. The painting of the draperies, with their angular highlights, suggests a sophisticated artist active in late-fourteenth century Constantinople.