#402 • The Crucifixion

In this work the iconography of the Crucifixion, typical from the repertoire of Christian devotion, is constructed by Dandini with a great intensity of pathos and movement.

 

The figures are depicted in the act of hoisting crosses and, in these bodies, we feel the muscular tension and movements that follow an agitated rhythm in a spiraling climax.

 

At the apex of the pyramidal setting is the body of Christ dazzled by divine light. Dandini's references are in direct connection to the painting of the Flemish Rubens and his masterpiece “Raising the Cross", now in Antwerp.

 

Echoes of transalpine painting reached Florence thanks to the commissions of Flemish artists at the Medici court, a patron who was very attentive to northern European novelties.