Fotoreproductie van een gravure van De kruisiging door Paulus Pontius, naar het schilderij door Peter Paul Rubens before 1858

This is Jean Louis Bargignac’s reproduction of “The Crucifixion,” an engraving made after Peter Paul Rubens’s painting. The somber palette of blacks, whites, and grays, achieved through careful tonal gradations, evokes a scene of profound suffering and loss. Bargignac directs our gaze upwards, positioning the tormented figure of Christ as the focal point. The strong vertical axis of the cross divides the composition, framing Christ between the earthly and the divine. His muscular body strains against the wooden beams, and this anatomical tension conveys a sense of both physical agony and spiritual transcendence. Note how the figures of the angels are rendered as ethereal forms, their swirling contours contrasting with Christ’s angular pose. Here, Bargignac destabilizes the traditional religious narrative through his formal treatment. The cross becomes a symbol of division, not unity, and the angels are depicted as witnesses to a scene of unbearable pain. This calculated arrangement and dynamic contrast compel us to grapple with themes of faith, doubt, and the very human struggle against suffering.