Crucifixion

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Although his birth name is not known, this artist had Flemish origins and was active in Spain, initially as a court painter of Queen Isabella of Castile and later mostly for church commissions. The sweeping mountainous landscape of this small Crucifixion suggests that Juan painted it in Castile—not for the queen or a church, but for the private devotion of the anonymous layman who kneels in prayer before Saint John the Evangelist. The astonishing detail of the scene—from the fur on the donor's robe and the buildings in the background to the blood running between Christ's toes—presents an opportunity to marvel at the wonders of Creation as well as at the artist's virtuosity.

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