Tintoretto’s “The Crucifixion” at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice

Tintoretto (1518 – 31 May 1594) “The Crucifixion”

Painting – Oil on canvas (280 x 444 cm) 1555

Tintoretto, The Crucifixion, at the Accademia Galleries in Venice, Italy

Tintoretto, The Crucifixion This painting by Tintoretto features an impressive number of figures; it is a veritable crowd of onlookers who crowd around Christ during his crucifixion.

The scene of this crucifixion is framed by men-at-arms who are taller than the other figures; they leave the scene with their backs turned on Christ.

On the left is a Renaissance-era officer clad in black armour and bright red breeches; he carries a red standard fluttering in the wind.

Another dark red banner stands out behind his, and we can see the foot of the man carrying it as he walks away, his duty done.

Tintoretto, Crucifixion On the right, a centurion on horseback towers over three soldiers who are playing dice to divide up Jesus’s clothes.

This crucifixion is a vibrantly coloured painting that stands in stark contrast to “The Crucifixion” at the Scuola San Rocco, where browns and blues dominate a sombre atmosphere in which colour is almost entirely absent.

This change in the use of colour indicates a significant shift in Tintoretto’s approach to depicting the Crucifixion, given that this painting was produced ten years before the one at the Scuola San Rocco.

The weeping women at the foot of the cross form a group whose poses are quite similar to those depicted by Tintoretto at the Scuola San Rocco.

They express just as much despair and grief and complete the centre of the canvas, where Christ dominates on his cross.

Tintoretto, The Crucifixion

Tintoretto, Crucifixion