Description
Simone Martini’s Crucifixion depicts the dramatic moment when a lance pierces Christ’s side. The cross dominates a narrow pictorial field surrounded by flying angels, armed soldiers, and a group of mourners. On the left Mary faints as other women support her, while Mary Magdalene embraces the wooden shaft. On the right military standards, spears, and armor sharpen the contrast between the violence of the executioners and the grief of those close to Christ.
The panel belongs to the Orsini Polyptych, a small Passion altarpiece that survives today in separate fragments. It is held by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp under inventory number 259. The museum dates it between 1320 and 1330 and records measurements of 23 by 14 centimeters. Painted in tempera and gold leaf on wood, the work retains a frame inscription referring to its nineteenth-century collector, Florent van Ertborn. Its small size makes the extraordinary movement of the scene all the more impressive.
