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Crucifix

ca. 1450
Not on view
This small, double-sided cross—one of several such works in The Met’s collection (27.231ab; 22.60.61)—would have originally been attached to a pole and carried in processions, hence the spoke at its base and the abraded condition of its surface, a result of frequent use. It is painted on both sides with a central figure of the crucified Christ surrounded by the Virgin (left), John the Evangelist (right), Mary Magdalen (bottom) and God the Father (top). On one side Christ’s eyes are open; on the other they are closed in death. On both sides his body is silhouetted against the gold ground rather than nailed to a wooden cross, an unusual detail that may have been intended to enhance the sense of illusionism.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Crucifix
  • Artist: Attributed to Giovanni Antonio Bellinzoni da Pesaro (Italian, Marchigian, active by 1437–d. 1475)
  • Date: ca. 1450
  • Medium: Tempera on wood, gold ground
  • Dimensions: Overall, excluding peg at base, 15 5/8 x 13 7/8 in. (39.7 x 35.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.25
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

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