The ''Crucifixion with Mary Magdalene'' (sometimes called the "Pazzi Crucifixion") is a fresco of c. 1495 of the

Crucifixion of Christ The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross.The instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus forming a "cruciform" or T-shaped structure. ...

Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...

in the chapter house of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi 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 ...

. It is his most notable work in Florence. It was a commission from the Pucci family - Antonio Billi's account book reports Dionigi and Giovanna Pucci commissioning a work from "Master Piero della Pieve a Chastello, a Perugian" on 20 November 1493 and paying 55 gold ducats on its completion on 20 April 1496. The central panel shows

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

(to whom the monastery church was dedicated in 1257) in prayer at the foot of the cross. The left panel shows the Virgin Mary with Saint Bernard (a major leader in the reform of Benedictine monasticism that caused the formation of the Cistercian order) and the right one shows

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

with

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

. The three tall trees behind St Bernard may symbolise the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

. A fourth panel on the north wall (the others are on the east wall) shows Christ lowering himself from the cross to hold the hands of St Bernard. The work is also mentioned in 16th century sources, although it was forgotten after the monastery passed to Carmelite nuns in 1628. In 1867 the nuns moved out and the convent was abandoned, leading to the rediscovery of the fresco.

Bibliography (in Italian)

*Vittoria Garibaldi, ''Perugino'', in ''Pittori del Rinascimento'', Scala, Florence, 2004 *Pierluigi De Vecchi, Elda Cerchiari, ''I tempi dell'arte'', volume 2,

Bompiani Bompiani is an Italian publishing house based in Milan. It was founded in 1929 by Valentino Bompiani. In 1990, Bompiani became part of the RCS MediaGroup. It was sold in 2015 to the Giunti Group. It is widely regarded as one of the leading liter ...

, Milan, 1999
Entry on Polomuseale.firenze.it
{{Pietro Perugino 1495 paintings Paintings by Pietro Perugino Paintings of the Crucifixion of Jesus Church frescos in Florence

Paintings of Benedict of Nursia Paintings of Bernard of Clairvaux