The Crucifixion

possibly ca. 1440
Not on view
To the left of the Crucifixion are shown Saints Monica, her son Augustine, and Peter Martyr; to the right are Saints Dominic, Francis, and Elizabeth of Hungary. This damaged but poignant picture was painted in the 1440s, when Fra Angelico and his workshop were decorating the convent of San Marco in Florence with a cycle of frescoes financed by Cosimo de'Medici. The picture may well have been painted for Cosimo and is listed in a 1492 inventory of the Medici Palace. As in the San Marco frescoes, saints born hundreds of years after the Crucifixion are shown experiencing the event as an extension of their meditations.

The background is regilt.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Crucifixion
  • Artist: Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) (Italian, Vicchio di Mugello ca. 1395–1455 Rome)
  • Date: possibly ca. 1440
  • Medium: Tempera transferred to canvas, laid down on wood, gold ground
  • Dimensions: 13 3/8 x 19 3/4 in. (34 x 50.2 cm); set in panel 15 3/4 x 21 1/4 in. (40 x 54 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.628
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.