''The Crucifixion'' is a panel in the central part of the

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

(see image below) of a large

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

painted by

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...

between 1457 and 1459 for the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

of San Zeno,

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

(

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

). It was commissioned by Gregorio Correr, the abbot of that monastery.

History

The ''Crucifixion'' was brought to

the Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

in 1798 and put on exhibition immediately. In 1806 two of the predella panels (the ''Mount of Olives'' and the ''Resurrection'') were sent to the museum of

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

. In 1815 the central panel and the two wings were taken back to

and exhibited in the city museum at

. After 1918, they were returned to the church of San Zeno, where they still remain - though they are not very easy to see. The commission of 1815 charged with reclaiming the works of art taken from the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

left the

panels in the possession of the Louvre and the museum of

. The ''Crucifixion'' was in the middle of the predella, exactly in the centre, as may be seen in the full altarpiece image below. Mantegna was striving after an effect of steep

visual perspective Linear or point-projection perspective () is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, generally on a flat surface, of ...

such as he had already achieved in the

Eremitani The Church of the Eremitani (), or Church of the Hermits, is a former- Augustinian, 13th-century Gothic-style church in Padua, region of the Veneto, Italy. It is also now notable for being adjacent to the Cappella Scrovegni with Giotto frescoes ...

chapel at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. The figures in the foreground, cut by the frame, increase the effect of recession; the vanishing lines of the ground are curved inwards and somehow contracted. The artist's feeling for nature is revealed by the minuteness with which he has represented every detail of the landscape. The accurate delineation of the

Roman soldiers This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *''Actuarius'' – A soldier charged with distributing pay and provisions ...

' equipment is evidence of an attitude to antiquity unknown in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

at that period. Florentine artists sought to understand and emulate the aesthetic quality of antique sculpture and architecture, but cared little for historical exactitude, which Mantegna on the other hand pursued with the passionate devotion of an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. In fact, the

was from the 14th century onwards, the chief Italian centre for the traffic in '' anticaglie'' - Venetian towns owned ''cabinets d'antiquités'' long before these were found in

.S. Boorsch, ''et al., Andrea Mantegna'', Harry N. Abrams Inc. (1993), ''passim''.

Predella details

Image:Crucifixion - Andrea Mantegna - Louvre INV 368.jpg, The central panel (''The Crucifixion'') Image:Andrea Mantegna 030.jpg, Detail of the central panel Image:Andrea Mantegna 031.jpg, Detail of the central panel

References

External links

Note on Mantegna's ''Crucifixion''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crucifixion (Mantegna) Paintings by Andrea Mantegna 1450s paintings Paintings in the Louvre by Italian artists Mantegna Horses in art Altarpieces Tempera paintings

History

Predella details

See also

References

External links