Crucifixion c. 1360 - 1370

Altichiero da Verona painted this small Crucifixion scene in the late 14th century, during a time when powerful families dominated Italian city-states and commissioned lavish artworks to assert their power. Here, the familiar biblical scene is rendered with a focus on emotion and drama. The gilded background, reminiscent of Byzantine icons, is brought to life with a range of expressions and gestures. Altichiero was working in Padua, a city with a famous university, and a place of cultural exchange, where artists were absorbing influences from both the North and South of Europe. The Scrovegni Chapel, a fresco cycle painted a generation earlier by Giotto, offered a precedent for naturalistic depictions of sacred stories, but Altichiero seems to be deliberately evoking an earlier era of icon painting. To truly understand this painting, we can draw on archival records that reveal the patronage networks and artistic workshops of the time. By situating Altichiero's Crucifixion within its historical context, we gain insight into the complex interplay of artistic tradition, social power, and religious belief in late medieval Italy.