Antique Painting, Oil On Canvas, Crucifixion, 18th Century

This painting depicts a classic Crucifixion of Jesus with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist at the foot of the cross. In the center is the crucified Christ, surmounted by a scroll bearing the inscription "I.N.R.I.". On the left is the sorrowful Virgin Mary with her hands clasped in prayer, wrapped in a dark cloak, while on the right is Saint John the Evangelist, gazing upward and wearing a bright red cloak. The symmetrical arrangement of the mourners on either side of the cross reflects a strong Renaissance and Counter-Reformation iconographic tradition. The structure of Christ’s slender body and the restrained drama of the faces recall late 16th-century Tuscan-Roman models, strongly influenced by Michelangelo Buonarroti’s famous drawings of the Crucifixion created for Vittoria Colonna (compositions popularized at the time by artists such as Marcello Venusti or Scipione Pulzone). This is likely a work attributable to the Italian School (probably Tuscan or Emilian) dating from the late 17th century to the early 18th century. The small format and the support suggest that it was a painting intended for private or domestic devotion. The painting is in excellent condition; it has a repainting but shows no signs of restoration. Dimensions: H 27.5 x W 19 cm