Kreuzigung Christi
Jacopo Tintoretto·1597
Historical Context
This 1597 Crucifixion of Christ is a late work by Tintoretto, painted in the final year of his life. The Crucifixion was a subject Tintoretto treated with unmatched dramatic power throughout his career, culminating in the enormous Crucifixion in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Painted in 1597, just a year before Tintoretto's death, this late Crucifixion demonstrates the aged master's continued engagement with the subject he had treated with unprecedented dramatic power throughout his career.
Technical Analysis
The late Crucifixion shows Tintoretto's final style, with expressionistic brushwork and dramatic light effects that convey the cosmic significance of Christ's death.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the late Crucifixion's expressionistic brushwork — Tintoretto in the final year of his life painting the subject he had treated with unprecedented power throughout his career.
- ◆Look at the dramatic light effects that convey the cosmic significance of Christ's death, supernatural illumination at the moment of sacrifice.
- ◆Observe how the aged painter's handling has become more free and gestural, form built from light rather than defined by line.
- ◆Find the sustained emotional and spiritual intensity that Tintoretto maintained to the end of his life in his most profound subject.
