The Centurion under the Cross by Derick Baegert

Derick Baegert was the principal figure in a family of painters working in Germany in the last third of the 15th century and the first third of the 16th century. His style is based on elements derived from late Gothic painting, combined with references to Netherlandish art. The five panels in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza were part of a large composition of the Crucifixion that was broken up at an unknown date. All the panels reflect the influence of Rogier van der Weyden, evident in the use of luminous colours and the importance given to detail. The whole composition has been hypothetically reconstructed in a variety of different ways, taking into account three other works by Baegert. In the reconstruction proposed by Ferdinand Köhler, the five panels in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza would be arranged in the following order: on the left side, Christ bearing the Cross above, and Saint Veronica and a Group of Knights below; in the central part, The good Centurion, located between Christ’s Cross and that of the Bad Thief, which can be made out in the upper two corners of the panel; Mary Magdalen would have been kneeling next to the Bad Thief’s cross; while on the right of the composition was Knights and Soldiers playing Dice for Christ's Robe.