The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [left panel]
A man stands, leaning on a staff used like a crutch, in a deep, rocky landscape in this round-topped vertical painting. The cleanshaven man has tanned skin and sparse gray hair. He is nude aside from a slate-gray cloth that wraps around his hips. The hand not bracing the crutch is held in a loose fist at his chest. A few plants grow and bloom along the bottom of the panel. The dirt path on which the man stands winds through low, grass-covered mounds to a cave opening at the base of a tall, steep cliff face. A lion stands on the path between the man and the cave. An owl perches in the bare, spike-like branches of a spindly tree growing to our right of the man.
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Dimensions
- left panel: 95 × 30.1 cm (37 3/8 × 11 7/8 in.) framed: 134 × 165.1 × 17.15 cm (52 3/4 × 65 × 6 3/4 in.)
- Department
- CIS-R
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Saints Metadata · 100%
Saint Jerome is explicitly named in the catalog title, which identifies this object as the left panel of a Crucifixion ensemble.
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Landscapes Both · 100%
The catalog describes a deep, rocky landscape, and the image visibly shows cliffs, a winding path, trees, and distant openings.
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Flora Visual · 100%
Trees, shrubs, flowering plants, grasses, and other low vegetation occupy the foreground and middle distance.
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Animals Both · 100%
The catalog identifies a lion and an owl, both of which are visible in the landscape: the lion stands on the path and the owl perches in the bare tree.
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Nude Both · 100%
The catalog describes the man as nude aside from a cloth around his hips, which is clearly visible in the image.
Visual Qualities
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Earth Tones Visual · 95%
Ochre, brown, muted green, and gold-brown tones dominate the earth, cliffs, vegetation, and foreground, contrasted with a blue-green sky.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 100%
The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a painting.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 100%
The catalog records the medium as oil on panel transferred to canvas.
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Oil on Panel Metadata · 98%
The catalog records the original support as panel, with the work subsequently transferred to canvas.
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Long Distance and Deep Distance Visual · 95%
The pale path, successive rock formations, and layered vegetation create pronounced spatial recession into the landscape.
Time Periods
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15th Century Art Metadata · 100%
The catalog dates the work to c. 1482/1485, placing it in the fifteenth century.
Cultural and Religious Styles
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Christian Art and Architecture Metadata · 99%
The catalog title identifies the work as part of a Crucifixion scene with Christian saints and the Virgin.
Source & rights
Pietro Perugino. The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [left panel]. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.