The Crucifixion

The Crucifixion (c. 1558), in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, depicts the central event of Christian salvation with the dramatic intensity of Veronese's earlier period. The painting likely belongs to the series of narrative works executed for a Venetian palace or church that also includes Old Testament subjects now in the Ashmolean Museum. Veronese's treatment of the Crucifixion in this period shows a more dramatic, emotionally direct approach than his later, more devotionally concentrated versions. Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery holds significant Italian paintings that reached England through the art market during the city's mercantile prosperity.

The composition presents the crucified Christ against a dramatic sky with mourning figures below. Veronese's palette brings warmth and light even to this somber scene, with silvery tones and refined color harmonies.