The Crucifixion

Former TitleCrucifixion of Christ

Attributed to Bénigne Guyot (French, active about 1450 - 1500)

Attributed to Master of Jean Rolin II (French, active 1440 - 1465)

Date15th century

MediumTempera on vellum

DimensionsOverall: 8 1/4 × 5 3/4 inches (20.96 × 14.61 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number45-49/1

On View

Not on view

Collections

European Art

Terms

DescriptionThe Crucifixion, full-page miniature cut from the Hours of the Cross in a Book of Hours, France, late 15th centuryExhibition History

Exhibition History

The Treasury: The Splendor of Liturgical Objects , The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, August 21, 2005–February 8, 2006; August 25, 2010–February 27, 2011; August 19, 2015–March 13, 2016; June 22–December 14, 2021, no cat., as The Crucifixion.

Gallery Label

This page, surrounded by a simulated painted frame, was formerly part of a prayer book. The expressive poses of Christ and the two thieves are typically late-Gothic, intended to inspire devotion and identification with Christ's suffering. The crosses are in the form of a "T" and lack a vertical projection above the crosspiece. Depicting a cross of this type enables the artist to place Christ in a more dominating position near the top of the picture field and to emphasize the backward tilt of the contorted thief's head on Christ's left as he arches back in the agony of death.

Provenance

With Avv. Vittorio Forti, Rome, by 1952 [1];

Acquired by exchange from Forti by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1952.

NOTES:

[1] Forti (1881–1980) was a manuscript dealer and operated an antiquarian book business with Tammaro De Marinis (1878–1969) from 1904 until around 1914. In May 1952, Forti was staying with his friend John Matouk in New York City when discussions began with the Nelson-Atkins about the manuscript leaf. It is one of three leaves that the museum acquired from Forti (the others are 45-49/2 and 45-49/3), and they were in New York with Forti at the time. Forti left the manuscripts with Matouk when he returned to Rome so that Paul Gardner, museum director, could retrieve the manuscripts the following month for the museum.

Published References

[None known at this time.]

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