English: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 174:

Technical notes: The support consists of a singlepiece of medium weight plain weave fabric that is evenlyand densely woven. Tacking edges are present on all foursides. The painting is in its original format as cusping isvisible along all four edges which are only partly groundedand painted over. The painting has not been lined andis mounted on an original strainer. The canvas was preparedwith a thick brownish ground that covers thestructure of the fabric completely. The paint layer consistsof opaque colours that totally cover the underlyingpreparatory layers. The figures in the foreground werepainted in reserves. The figures in the background arecrudely executed and painted directly over the foregroundand background. The paint layer is subtly modulatedin the rendering of the figures. The flesh tones areapplied gently while the execution of the main figures issomewhat stiff. Small pentimenti can be seen in the contoursof the figures. The palette is rich with red, blue,green, yellow pigments as well as a range of sombre earthcolours. The painting underwent conservation treatmentin 1947.

Provenance: Donated in 1868 by Queen Joséphine.

Bibliography: Göthe 1910, p. 321; Von Wurzbach II1910, p. 594; NM Cat. 1958, p. 183; NM Cat. 1990, p. 330.

The motif of this painting is the Crucifixion, withChrist on the Cross in the centre of the image. Next tothe cross Mary Magdalene is portrayed kneeling withher customary flowing hair and a devout expression.John and the Virgin Mary are depicted standing nextto Jesus. In the background to the left a number of soldiersare portrayed, one on horseback wearing 17thcentury garments rather than Roman armour. In themiddle ground to the right are a number of anonymousfigures and there are mountainous slopes in thebackground.

Above this representation of the three figures ontheir crosses there is a dramatic sky with racing clouds.To the right the heavens are opening slightly and a rayof light illuminates the image. In the centre of the skythree putti are portrayed looking down at Christ onthe cross. The figures on the crosses are depicted withtheir bodies stretched out, conspicuous muscularityand in distorted poses that enhance the expression oftheir suffering. To this we can add the fabrics that flutterin the baroque manner around the crucified bodies,the racing clouds, the rhetorical gestures of MaryMagdalene, Mary and John, which all further emphasisethe drama, movement and emotionality that findsexpression in this work.

The painting is signed “C. Schut” and is executed ina profuse palette of red, blue, yellow and green pigmentsand sombre subdued range of earth colours.Technical examination indicates that the painting hasprobably not been trimmed but is still in its originalformat. On stylistic grounds the painting can be attributedto Cornelis Schut II, a painter who worked mainlyin Seville. Similarities can be observed, for instance,between the Nationalmusuem’s painting and a workdepicting the Martyrdom of St. George in the KoninklijkMuseum Voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp in theexaggerated muscularity of the figures, their distortedposes and the perspective, as well as in the powerfulmovement and drama of the compositions.1KS

1 Martyrdom of St. George, 1653, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten,

Antwerp, inv. no. 327. [End]