''Crucifixion'' is a painting by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

painter

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...

, created around 1455–1460. It is housed in the

Museo Correr The Museo Correr () is a museum in Venice, northern Italy. Located in Piazza San Marco, St. Mark's Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The museum extends along the southside of the squar ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. The work was originally in the church of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

of Venice, and is part of the Mantegna-influenced phase of Bellini's early career.

Description

The painting shows the crucified Jesus, portrayed with a very pale skin, on a broad landscape background. The deep blue sky is populated by

cherubim A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden o ...

who are weeping at his death. In the lower part are Mary and St. John. The background shows several details, including a lake with a wooden bridge, a quarry, small houses and a series of small working figures. Such a fragmented, detailed composition was typical of

Jacopo Bellini Jacopo Bellini (c. 1400 – c. 1470) was one of the founders of the Renaissance style of painting in Venice and northern Italy. His sons Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, and his son-in-law Andrea Mantegna, were also famous painters. Few of Bellini' ...

, the artist's father, and was replaced by a more coherent one in Bellini's later works. Other elements typical of his early works are the rather crude painting strokes, the thin figures and the sharp lines.

Sources

* 1450s paintings Paintings by Giovanni Bellini Bellini Paintings of the Virgin Mary Collection of the Museo Correr Angels in art {{15C-painting-stub

Description

See also

Sources