Christ on the Cross by Francisco De Zurbarán, Luke 23:26-43, Bible.Gallery
Artwork Description
Christ on the Cross is a 1627 painting by Francisco de Zurbarán, now in the Art Institute of Chicago.
In 1626 Zurbarán signed a new contract with the Dominicans of San Pablo de Real Monastery in Seville to produce 21 paintings in 8 months. One of these was Christ on the Cross, which was so admired by the artist's contemporaries that Seville's city council suggested he moved there permanently in 1629.
As in Diego Velasquez's 1632 Christ Crucified, the artist shows Christ's two feet nailed separately - the number of nails used to crucify Christ was then a matter of controversy, with Bridget of Sweden writing of four nails. Both works also draw on a Counter Reformation trend after the Council of Trent to depictions focusing solely on Christ rather than those gathered around the cross.