Crucifixion
Quick Summary
Crucifixion was a method of capital punishment used by ancient civilizations like the Persians, Carthaginians, and Romans. It involved a slow and agonizing death, often through asphyxiation and blood loss, and was typically reserved for political agitators, pirates, and slaves.1
In Christianity, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a central event. According to the Gospels, Jesus was scourged, mocked, and then nailed to a cross, with an inscription above him detailing his alleged crime of claiming to be King of the Jews. His death on the cross is seen as a sacrifice, and the event is commemorated in art and religious tradition. Constantine the Great abolished crucifixion in the Roman Empire in the 4th century CE out of respect for Jesus.1234
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
ChristologyThe Middle Ages through the 19th centuryPaintings of the Crucifixion, however, are much less sentimental. One notable example is Matthias Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece (1515), which depicts Jesus’ body ravaged by crucifixion yet evokes pointedly the Christian message of Jesus’ horrible suffering; originally intended for a hospital, the altar painting may have been designed to…
Read MorePaintings of the Crucifixion, however, are much less sentimental. One notable example is Matthias Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece (1515), which depicts Jesus’ body ravaged by crucifixion yet evokes pointedly the Christian message of Jesus’ horrible suffering; originally intended for a hospital, the altar painting may have been designed to…
Read More
Western sculptureSarcophagiThe Crucifixion itself was represented by only a bare cross, surmounted by a crown enclosing the monogram of Christ: thus, the symbolic image of the triumph over death. This hesitation to portray the dead Christ on the Cross, an ignominious mode of punishment reserved by the…
Read MoreThe Crucifixion itself was represented by only a bare cross, surmounted by a crown enclosing the monogram of Christ: thus, the symbolic image of the triumph over death. This hesitation to portray the dead Christ on the Cross, an ignominious mode of punishment reserved by the…
Read More
stained glassTraditional techniques…in area, the Poitiers Cathedral Crucifixion window contains approximately 175 square feet (16.3 square metres) of stained glass, and the Life of Christ in Chartres contains more than 250 square feet (23.2 square metres). A much more elaborate system of subdivisions in the window opening, consisting of vertical as well…
Read More…in area, the Poitiers Cathedral Crucifixion window contains approximately 175 square feet (16.3 square metres) of stained glass, and the Life of Christ in Chartres contains more than 250 square feet (23.2 square metres). A much more elaborate system of subdivisions in the window opening, consisting of vertical as well…
Read More
Fra AngelicoYears at the priory of San Marco…hall, he executed a large Crucifixion that seems akin to the “Moralities” of the 14th century, which urged detachment from worldly vanities and salvation through Christ alone. In addition to the three crucified figures against the sky, Angelico painted groups of ritual figures, rhythmically arranged, with a chorus of martyrs,…
Read More…hall, he executed a large Crucifixion that seems akin to the “Moralities” of the 14th century, which urged detachment from worldly vanities and salvation through Christ alone. In addition to the three crucified figures against the sky, Angelico painted groups of ritual figures, rhythmically arranged, with a chorus of martyrs,…
Read More
Antonello da MessinaHis earliest known works, a Crucifixion (c. 1455) and St. Jerome in His Study (c. 1460), already show Antonello’s characteristic combination of Flemish technique and realism with typically Italian modeling of forms and clarity of spatial arrangement.
Read MoreHis earliest known works, a Crucifixion (c. 1455) and St. Jerome in His Study (c. 1460), already show Antonello’s characteristic combination of Flemish technique and realism with typically Italian modeling of forms and clarity of spatial arrangement.
Read More
Giovanni BelliniThey include a Crucifixion, a Transfiguration, and a Dead Christ Supported by Angels. Several pictures of the same or earlier date are in the United States, and others are at the Correr Civic Museum in Venice. Four triptychs, sets of three panels used as altarpieces, are still in…
Read MoreThey include a Crucifixion, a Transfiguration, and a Dead Christ Supported by Angels. Several pictures of the same or earlier date are in the United States, and others are at the Correr Civic Museum in Venice. Four triptychs, sets of three panels used as altarpieces, are still in…
Read More
Jacopo BelliniIn the life-sized “Crucifixion” (Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona), the spare and sombre scene strictly conforms to the Florentine Renaissance style of Masaccio and repudiates the rich colouring and courtly grace of Bellini’s earlier known works.
Read MoreIn the life-sized “Crucifixion” (Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona), the spare and sombre scene strictly conforms to the Florentine Renaissance style of Masaccio and repudiates the rich colouring and courtly grace of Bellini’s earlier known works.
Read More
Andrea del Castagno…single composition above that, a Crucifixion, a Deposition, and a Resurrection—all executed in 1447 for the refectory of the former Convent of Sant’Apollonia in Florence, now known as the Cenacolo di Sant’Apollonia. These monumental frescoes, revealing the influence of Masaccio’s pictorial illusionism and Castagno’s own use of scientific perspective, received…
Read More…single composition above that, a Crucifixion, a Deposition, and a Resurrection—all executed in 1447 for the refectory of the former Convent of Sant’Apollonia in Florence, now known as the Cenacolo di Sant’Apollonia. These monumental frescoes, revealing the influence of Masaccio’s pictorial illusionism and Castagno’s own use of scientific perspective, received…
Read More
Giunta Pisano…church of Assisi, notably a “Crucifixion” dated 1236, with a figure of Father Elias, the general of the Franciscans, embracing the cross, but this painting no longer exists. Three large Crucifixions are ascribed to the same master, whose signature can be traced on them. One is in Santissimo Raineri e…
Read More…church of Assisi, notably a “Crucifixion” dated 1236, with a figure of Father Elias, the general of the Franciscans, embracing the cross, but this painting no longer exists. Three large Crucifixions are ascribed to the same master, whose signature can be traced on them. One is in Santissimo Raineri e…
Read More
Maerten van Heemskerck…his maturity are a great Crucifixion altarpiece (1538–43; Linköping cathedral, Sweden) and a painting, also a Crucifixion (1543). He also painted portraits, among them a self-portrait with the Colosseum (1553) and the well-known Portrait of a Woman at the Spinning Wheel (c. 1531). From 1548 onward he produced many designs…
Read More…his maturity are a great Crucifixion altarpiece (1538–43; Linköping cathedral, Sweden) and a painting, also a Crucifixion (1543). He also painted portraits, among them a self-portrait with the Colosseum (1553) and the well-known Portrait of a Woman at the Spinning Wheel (c. 1531). From 1548 onward he produced many designs…
Read More- Justus of Ghent
…Justus’s earliest known painting, the Crucifixion triptych (c. 1465), the attenuated, angular figures and the barren landscape articulated by short, taut curves reveal the influence of the painter Dieric Bouts. The Adoration of the Magi (c. 1466) shows the continued influence of Bouts in its figures. In 1473–74 Justus of…
Read More…Justus’s earliest known painting, the Crucifixion triptych (c. 1465), the attenuated, angular figures and the barren landscape articulated by short, taut curves reveal the influence of the painter Dieric Bouts. The Adoration of the Magi (c. 1466) shows the continued influence of Bouts in its figures. In 1473–74 Justus of…
Read More - PeruginoMature work
…and the fresco of the Crucifixion for the Florentine convent of Sta. Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi. These works are characterized by ample sculptural figures gracefully posed in simple Renaissance architectural settings, which act as a frame to the images and the narrative. The harmonious space is tightly controlled in the…
Read More…and the fresco of the Crucifixion for the Florentine convent of Sta. Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi. These works are characterized by ample sculptural figures gracefully posed in simple Renaissance architectural settings, which act as a frame to the images and the narrative. The harmonious space is tightly controlled in the…
Read More
Pablo PicassoSurrealism…(drawings and paintings of the Crucifixion [1930–35]). In the 1930s Picasso, like many of the Surrealist writers, often played with the idea of metamorphosis. For example, the image of the minotaur, the monster of Greek mythology—half bull and half human—that traditionally has been seen as the embodiment of the struggle…
Read More…(drawings and paintings of the Crucifixion [1930–35]). In the 1930s Picasso, like many of the Surrealist writers, often played with the idea of metamorphosis. For example, the image of the minotaur, the monster of Greek mythology—half bull and half human—that traditionally has been seen as the embodiment of the struggle…
Read More
Passion music…composer Sir John Stainer’s The Crucifixion (1887) achieved great popularity.
Read More…composer Sir John Stainer’s The Crucifixion (1887) achieved great popularity.
Read More
Sir John Stainer…although his best-known oratorio, The Crucifixion (1887), is also performed in other English-speaking countries. He wrote songs as well as cantatas, services, anthems, and other music for the church service. He also published treatises on the organ and music theory and collaborated on a dictionary of musical terms. Stainer’s most…
Read More…although his best-known oratorio, The Crucifixion (1887), is also performed in other English-speaking countries. He wrote songs as well as cantatas, services, anthems, and other music for the church service. He also published treatises on the organ and music theory and collaborated on a dictionary of musical terms. Stainer’s most…
Read More
TintorettoCareerIn 1565 his immense Crucifixion was displayed in the Sala dell’Albergo. Around Christ, in the centre, many figures revolve in a livid light that, muting the picture’s colours, invests it with dramatic power. The decoration of the chamber was completed in 1567; it included other scenes of Christ’s Passion,…
Read MoreIn 1565 his immense Crucifixion was displayed in the Sala dell’Albergo. Around Christ, in the centre, many figures revolve in a livid light that, muting the picture’s colours, invests it with dramatic power. The decoration of the chamber was completed in 1567; it included other scenes of Christ’s Passion,…
Read More







