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)

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)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number83.586

Terms

Religion
Saints
Christ
Crucifixion
Saint John
John the Baptist
Saint Francis
Brown
Tan
Green
Red
White
Blue

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