Crucifixion (People Facing the Sun) 1917

Walter Gramatté created this painting, ‘Crucifixion (People Facing the Sun),’ with oil paint on canvas. At first glance, the composition envelops us in an ethereal dance of light and form. The artist uses a muted palette of pastel hues, where the figures, bathed in a radiant yellow, appear to emerge from a textured ground of greens and browns. Gramatté's application of paint is highly expressive, with visible brushstrokes building up the figures and surrounding landscape. This imbues the scene with a sense of restless energy. Notice how the artist uses light not just to illuminate, but to dissolve the boundaries between the figures and their environment. The work destabilizes the traditional iconography of the crucifixion by focusing on human figures oriented towards a source of light, rather than the cross. This abstract configuration creates a tension that draws the viewer into a complex interplay between form and spiritual expression. The textured application of paint encourages us to reconsider the relationship between materiality and transcendental experience.