This work is of particular interest because of the Virgin Annunciate's "get back" gesture in the top right gable. This is by no means the only work in which Mary gestures in a way that suggests her initial unease (Luke 1:29), but most others express her reaction by means of more subtle gestures. In a happy irony, her straight arm leads the eye to the image of her coronation in Heaven.
The main scene is typical of a Crucifixion of this period in Italy. St. Mary Magdalene clutches the base of the cross, the Virgin Mary faints but is held up by St. John and one of the women, and on the right the centurion gestures as to say "Indeed this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54).
In the left wing is Our Lady of Mercy. In this portrait tradition the faithful shelter under her mantle, which is almost always blue. In the Nativity on the right Mary is recumbent as in the earliest images but unusually she is holding the baby while the ox and ass look into an empty manger.
In the bottom registers of the two wings are portraits of martyrs, female on the left and male on the right.
According to the Web Gallery of Art, the artist's name is unknown but he was active in Bologna in the 1330s.
Read more about images of the Crucifixion.
Read more about images of the Annunciation.
Read more about images of Our Lady of Mercy.
Read more about images of the Birth of Jesus.