Dimensions: support: 908 x 1016 mm frame: 1168 x 1472 x 83 mm
Copyright: © Tate | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: I find myself immediately drawn to the stark linearity of the cross against that muted, unsettling blue. Curator: That striking visual, rendered by Graham Sutherland, is simply titled "Crucifixion." Sutherland, born in 1903, grappled with depicting profound suffering amidst the backdrop of war and societal upheaval. Editor: The near-monochromatic palette accentuates the angularity and skeletal form, stripping away any sentimentality. It’s a brutal geometry. Curator: Absolutely. Considering post-war anxieties and the re-evaluation of faith, Sutherland presents us with a body that embodies societal anguish, reflecting a crisis of meaning. Editor: The way light and shadow define form speaks to the artist's formal mastery. It's a starkly modernist interpretation. Curator: Indeed. It’s fascinating how Sutherland layers personal and collective trauma within this iconic image. Editor: It’s an impressive composition, prompting contemplation on form and substance. Curator: Agreed; "Crucifixion" prompts us to confront pain, identity, and historical context.
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This is one of a series made by Sutherland in preparation for a larger version commissioned for a church in Northampton. The sources on which he drew indicate the way he saw the theme in terms of past paintings, the individual and recent historical events. His primary reference point was Matthias Grunewald’s famous Issenhiem altarpiece (illustrated to the left), in which Christ is shown anguished and blistered; Sutherland drew himself slung from the ceiling. He also referred to recently released photographs of dead and starving Concentration Camp victims. Gallery label, September 2004
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