Christ on the Cross (Delacroix)

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Christ on the Cross (1835) by Eugène Delacroix

Christ on the Cross, also known as Christ Between Two Thieves or Calvary, refers to a series of paintings produced by the French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix between 1835 and 1856[1]. The painting depicts the Crucifixion of Jesus. Specifically, the painting emphasizing the dramatic moment when Christ hangs on the cross between the two thieves; however, Delacroix includes only one of the thieves on a cross visible within the composition.

Although the subject draws on long-standing Christian iconographic traditions, Delacroix reinterpreted the Crucifixion through a highly expressive, color-driven style influenced by earlier European masters, including Peter Paul Rubens, Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, Rembrandt, and Jan Lievens.[2] Delacroix would continue to revisit the subject throughout his career, producing multiple versions that reflect his shifting techniques, interests, and ambitions in religious painting.[1]

The art historians Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre describe the "tumultuous sensuality" of the result, in which the emphasis is shifted from "the pathos of the Virgin" to the straining laborer at the right and the dishabille of Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross.[3]

The painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1835, and was purchased by the French state for 2,000 francs and assigned to Morbihan. It was later installed, against Delacroix’s wishes, in the Church of Saint-Patern in Vannes. After suffering damage and overpainting, it was restored in 1864.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Johnson, Lee. Delacroix. New York: Norton, 1963.
  2. ^ Sérullaz, Arlette, ed. Delacroix: The Late Work. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1998.
  3. ^ Allard, Sébastien; Fabre, Côme; Korchane, Mehdi (2018). Delacroix. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-58839-651-8.
  4. ^ Allard, Sébastien, Côme Fabre, Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Michèle Hannoosh, Mehdi Korchane, and Asher Ethan Miller. Delacroix. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018.
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