Mathis Gruenewald, The Crucifixion
1512-1516
Oil on panel, 269 × 307 cm (105.9 × 120.9 in)
Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France
This is one of the panels from the Isenheim Altarpiece. Gruenwald emphasizes the pain of the crucifixion by portraying a haggard, sagging Jesus covered with wounds.
On the right St. John the Baptist points to him and says the words of John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." The lamb at his feet refers to another of his sayings, "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The lamb's cross and the chalice remind the viewer that the Lamb takes sin away precisely through the sacrifice of the Cross, of which the Eucharist is a memorial and participation.
On the left, St. John the Evangelist comforts the Virgin Mary as a diminutive Mary Magdalene raises her hands in prayer. Before her is the ointment jar that is her attribute.
Read more about images of the Crucifixion.
Source: this page at Wikimedia Commons.
