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Giotto, The Crucifixion Italian, c. 1304-1308 Padua, Scrovegni/Arena Chapel |
“After they had crucified him,
they divided his garments by casting lots;
then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
(Matthew 27:35-37)
“The Crucifixion” brings us to the culminating event of the Passion. Jesus is shown nailed to the cross. To his left are the soldiers and the mob, to his right are his Mother and her supporters, including the Apostle John and, at his feet, kneels Mary Magdalene.
they divided his garments by casting lots;
then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
Several moments from the Crucifixion narratives appear to have been conflated here. First of all, the soldiers at the right side of the painting are holding the tunic and appear to be arguing over whether or not they should cut it up. Second, among the crowd at the right, most of whom are those who have plotted or carried out the Crucifixion, is one person with a halo. Candidates for the identity of this person may be: Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, or Longinus (the name given by tradition to the unnamed centurion). Since this figure appears to wear Roman military red, with a black helmet, just like the other soldiers, I would opt for the identification as Longinus. The fact that his helmet has golden bands and some kind of extensions also suggests that this is their commander, reinforcing the identification as Longinus, the centurion in charge of the crucifixion. As this person is gesturing toward Christ, this may be the moment when the centurion declares “Truly, this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54) If this is correct, then this is the moment just after the death of Jesus.
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| Detail of the Roman soldiers. |
This would appear to be a correct interpretation if we look at the reactions of Jesus’ friends and of the angels who surround Him in the skies. On earth Mary, His Mother, appears to have fainted. Her eyes are closed and she is supported at each arm by a friend, John to her left and one of the several women named in the Gospels at her right.
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| Detail, Mary and her supporters. |
Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot of the cross. Her face reflects her own sorrow, as she gently touches the feet of Jesus.
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| Detail, Mary Magdalene at the feet of Jesus. |
In the skies the angels dramatically express their dismay, their grief and even their anger. They exclaim, they avert their eyes, they wring their hands and one even tears his garments in the same gesture as Caiaphas in the scene of “Christ Before Caiaphas”.
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| Detail, One of the angels above the cross |
Two angels hold bowls to catch the blood dripping from His wounded hands, while another holds his bowl to capture the blood spurting from the lance wound in His side. This detail reinforces the interpretation that this is the moment, shortly after death, when Christ’s side is pierced.
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| Detail, Angels on the left side of the painting. |
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| Detail, Angels on the right side of the painting. |
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| Detail, Angel at Christ's side, holding a bowl to collect the blood pouring from the wound of the lance. |
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| Detail, Angel Tearing His Robe in Grief. |
We also notice that, under the rock on which the cross stands, is a grave containing a skeleton. A long-standing poetic and iconographic tradition held that Golgotha, the hill of Calvary, was also the location of the Garden of Eden and that the cross was made from the wood of the Tree of Life from the Garden. This tradition also held that Adam, the first man, was buried at the foot of the Tree.
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Two earlier examples of this iconography are shown here.
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Mosaic, The Crucifixion Italian, c. 1200-1220 Venice, Cathedral of San Marco |
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Bonaventura Berlinghieri, The Crucifixion Right wing of a Diptych Italian, c. 1260-1270 Florence, Galleria degli'Uffizi |
The death of the new Adam, Jesus, is thus linked with the death of the first man, Adam “For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life” (1 Corinthians 15:22). This is the moment when the division caused by Adam’s disobedience in the Garden is healed by Christ’s obedient death, in the same Garden, at the same tree.
© M. Duffy, 2011. Pictures refreshed 2024.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible,
revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine,
Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights
Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form
without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
