The Elevation of the Cross

…Rubens’s two great Antwerp triptychs, The Elevation of the Cross (1609–10), combined Italianate reflections of Tintoretto and Caravaggio with Flemish realism in a heroic affirmation of redemptive suffering. His second triptych for Antwerp’s cathedral, Descent from the Cross (1611–14), is more Classical and restrained in keeping with its subject. This…