New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.

Christ on the Cross Between Saints John the Baptist and Francis of Assisi

Artist Unknown

Previous Attribution Gerard David (Netherlandish, ca. 1460-1523)

CultureFlemish

Datelate 1400s

MediumOil on panel

DimensionsOverall: 26 1/2 x 16 3/4 in. (67.3 x 42.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 33 1/4 x 23 3/8 in. (84.5 x 59.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number83.586

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on panel painting. Christ hangs on the cross, almost skeletal thin, bleeding from the thorns around his head, and the nails through his feet and each hand. On his right is John the Baptist wearing a brown tunic and red cape; he gazes at Christ, pointing toward him with his right hand, and in his left hand is an open book. On Christ's left is St. Francis of Assisi, tonsured head, robed in brown, holding both his hands up to reveal his stigmata. At the base of the cross, in the center foreground are rocks, detailed in painting. The background presents a 15th century Flemish landscape, detailed such that the viewer can see the people in the window of the house just above John the Baptist's right hand. In the far distance, the colors fade because of atmospheric perspective; however, more buildings and treed landscapes are visible.

Label TextChrist on the Cross Between Saints John the Baptist and Francis of Assisi, late 1400s Flemish Oil on wood Neither John the Baptist nor Francis of Assisi were present at the Crucifixion, yet they flank Christ in this painting. The Baptist (on the left) preached about the coming of Jesus before his birth, and Francis miraculously received Christ’s wounds as a sign of his devotion in the 1200s (look at his hands and side). Rather than illustrating the specific moment of the Crucifixion, the painting transcends time and place, inviting viewers to contemplate the promise of their own salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. Those ideas are echoed in a tiny window in the distant building on the left. There, the resurrected Christ appears before the Virgin. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 83.586 ProvenanceGeorge MacDonald, Italy, 1878; Louisa MacDonald, Lady Troup, London; Reverend Philip Clayton, Vicar of All Hallows, 1946; All Hollows-Berkyngechirche-by-the-Tower, London, 1946; Christies' Sale, June 29, 1973 (lot 16); Thomas Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London, 1973; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., 1976; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to The Chrysler Museum, 1983. Exhibition History"From Veneziano to Pollock: Ten Masterworks," Chrysler Museum, June, 1984, (exhib. cat. pp.12-13). Published ReferencesMax J. Friedländer. _Early Netherlandish Painting: Hans Memlinc and Gerard David_. Vol. VI, part II. Leyden. 1971:plates 161, 170, 172, 196, 197. Gregory Martin. "A Newly Discovered David Crucifixion," _Old Master Pictures / Christie's Review of the Season_. London: Christie's. 1973:pp. 14-18. Thomas W. Sokolowski and Thomas W. Styron. _From Veneziano to Pollock_, exhibition catalogue, Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, 1983. Jefferson C. Harrison. "Northern Art: Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries", _The Chrysler Museum Gallery Guide_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va. 1984. David W. Steadman, Director. "Ten Masterworks!" _Chrysler Museum Bulletin_. Vol. 14, no. 6. Norfolk: Chrysler Museum. 06/1984. Supplément. "La Chronique des Arts: Principales Acquisitions des Musées en 1984," _Gazette des Beaux-Arts_. VI Période, Tome CV, no. 1394. 03/1985: pp. 26-75. Jefferson C. Harrison. _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, 1991, p. 7, #6. Susan Urbach, _Early Netherlandish Paintings: Old Masters' Gallery Catalogues_ (London: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2016) vol. 1, 221, fig. 18.13.