Art Institute of Chicago

The Crucifixion

Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598–1664)

Date

1627

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

Spain

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In 1626 the Dominican monastery of San Pablo el Real in Seville, Spain, commissioned the young Francisco de Zurbarán to execute a cycle of paintings including The Crucifixion . This work was installed in a dimly lit space in the monastery and was visible to visitors through a grill. Early commentators remarked on its powerful illusion of three-dimensionality, as though it was a sculpture rather than a painting. The dramatically illuminated figure of Christ, set against a dark, empty background, appears outside of time and place, both idealized in its quiet beauty and humanized by the individualized face and insistent realism.

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