Design for a Crucifix with the Virgin Mary, Saint Mary Magdalen, and Saint John
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk
Dimensions
15 7/8 x 9 5/16 in. (40.3 x 23.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2003
Accession Number
2003.372
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite drawing by Polidoro da Caravaggio, a prominent Italian Mannerist artist active early 16th-century Rome presents a preliminary design for a Crucifix scene. At the center, Christ hangs on the cross, mourned by the Virgin Mary Saint Mary Magdalen, Saint John—figures central to Christian iconography symbolizing grief and devotion at the foot of the cross Polidoro, a follower of Raphael who gained fame for his dramatic frescoes on Roman palace facades, captures the emotional intensity of this pivotal biblical moment with fluid, expressive lines. Executed in pen and brown ink with br...
About the Artist
Polidoro da Caravaggio · 1492–present
Polidoro Caldara, known as Polidoro da Caravaggio, was born around 1499 in Caravaggio, Lombardy, and emerged as one of the most innovative painters of the early Mannerist period. Arriving in Rome circa 1515 as an untrained laborer hauling plaster for the Vatican Logge decorations, he quickly caught the eye of Raphael's key assistant, Maturino da Firenze. By 1517, Polidoro had joined Raphael's work...