Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John

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Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John
ArtistHendrick ter Brugghen
Yearc. 1625 (c. 1625)
Mediumoil on canvas
SubjectCrucifixion of Jesus
Dimensions154.9 cm × 102.2 cm (61.0 in × 40.2 in)
Condition"The painting is well preserved. The gray color of Mary's cloak and the gray-green cast of the night sky suggest that these passages may contain a discolored smalt pigment."[1]
LocationThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
OwnerThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
Accession56.228
Websitehttp://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/110000250

The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John by

Calvinist Dutch United Provinces, probably Utrecht. When discovered in a bombed out church in South Hackney, London in 1956, it was unknown, but by the time it appeared in Sotheby's salesroom in November of that year it was recognized as an important example of Utrecht Caravaggism. It was acquired by the museum in the sale.[2][3]

Provenance

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, oil on canvas, 108.8 x 136.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Although the date is partly illegible, stylistically it comes closest to Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, which is dated 1625. It was probably commissioned for a chapel or private church, although some contention has existed over whether this would have been Catholic or Protestant.[3]

The posthumous inventory of

guilders; possibly this painting.[4] It served as an altarpiece in a side chapel of Christ Church, South Hackney, London, between about 1898 and 1956, when the church was demolished and the painting moved to the Church of St John-at-Hackney. The church sold the painting to Nigel Foxell of Oxford for £75.[2] Foxell consigned the painting to auction at Sotheby's on 28 November 1956. It realised £15,000 (lot 115).[5] Foxell donated the proceeds (minus Sotheby's 10% commission) to the Diocese of London
.

Composition

Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene
, oil on canvas, 149 x 119.4 cm, Allen Memorial Art Museum

Ter Brugghen's scene is taken from the

Mary and John the Apostle. At the base of the cross are bones, traditionally identified as the bones of Adam. The scene is set in an atmosphere of deep dusk; stars visible in the background.[7]

The low horizon and the height at which this work, as an altarpiece would have been displayed, brings the viewer in direct confrontation with the skull and bones, telling us where we are in geographically (

Golgotha, the place of a skull) and existentially (in the form of a memento mori).[3] The head of Christ bears a resemblance to the Christ in Ter Brugghen's The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), painted between 1621 and 1623.[1] Another indication that Ter Brugghen might have used models more than once, is the similarity between his Saint Sebastian in the Oberlin picture and Saint John here.[3]

The starry sky is given us by the Gospel of Matthew: "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." Matthew 27:45[8] Ter Brugghen renders it so naturalistically that we have reason to believe he had actually witnessed a total solar eclipse, and we know there had been one when he was still in Rome, on Wednesday, October 12, 1605,[9] although the site of total eclipse in Italy was Sicily.[10] It seems as likely to be a similar stylistic device to that used in his Saint Sebastian.[1]

Perhaps the strongest indication that the picture is situated in the context of the

Calvinists and the post-Tridentine Catholic theologians.[7]

If Mary represents the Church, John represents the priesthood. They are set apart from Christ, who is depicted archaically, by their stylistically modern, Caravaggesque appearance. While the viewer would have been comfortable with the familiar iconographic depiction of Christ, the sophisticate would have appreciated the fashionable depiction of John and Mary and relished the references to other familiar works.

Mathis Grünewald (c. 1470 – 1528).[3][7]

Referenced works

  • The Crucifixion (No. 11) (1511) engraving by Albrecht Dürer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
    The Crucifixion (No. 11) (1511) engraving by Albrecht Dürer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
  • Calvary of Hendrik van Rijn (1363), Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
  • The Crucifixion (about 1430) by Jan van Eyck, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
    The Crucifixion (about 1430) by Jan van Eyck, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
  • The Small Crucifixion (1511-1520) by Mathis Grünewald, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
    The Small Crucifixion (1511-1520) by Mathis Grünewald,
    National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
  • Die Kreuzigung Christi (1523-1524) from the Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece by Mathis Grünewald, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
    Die Kreuzigung Christi (1523-1524) from the
    Tauberbischofsheim altarpiece by Mathis Grünewald, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
  • The Crucifixion by Gerard David (about 1460 - 1523), Galleria di Palazzo Bianco, Genoa
    The Crucifixion by Gerard David (about 1460 - 1523), Galleria di Palazzo Bianco, Genoa

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781588392732
    .
  2. ^ a b The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John Hendrick ter Brugghen (Dutch, The Hague? 1588–1629 Utrecht)". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. ^
    JSTOR 3257746
    .
  4. ^ The Frick Collection. "Art in the Montias Database". The Frick Collection. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  5. ^ Sotheby's. "Lot 115 - Sotheby's, London (November 28, 1956)". Blouin Art Sales Index. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  6. ^ John 19:26–27 King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)
  7. ^
    ISBN 9781409434955
    .
  8. ^ Matthew 27:45 King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)
  9. S2CID 192982066
    .
  10. ^ Wolfram Alpha. "solar eclipse on October 12, 1605". Wolfram Alpha LLC. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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