De kruisiging met Maria en de H. Johannes en twee heilige vrouwen 1490

This is an engraving of the Crucifixion with Mary and St. John, along with two holy women, created by the Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet. The composition is striking, defined by the stark, linear quality of the engraving. Notice how the arrangement of figures and architectural elements creates a sense of depth within a limited space. The emotional intensity is heightened by the expressive faces of the figures who are arranged in a foreground semicircle. The artist's skillful use of line, from dense hatching to delicate strokes, creates texture that plays with light and shadow. The cross, rendered with a rugged, tactile quality, seems to emerge from the background. The artist destabilizes conventional representations of religious suffering by focusing on the raw physicality of the scene through precise lines and a strong structural composition. This is heightened by placing a skull at the base of the cross. The formal qualities here emphasize not just the narrative but also the underlying structures of human suffering. The formal structure invites ongoing contemplation and reinterpretation.