The Crucifixion Triptych by Rogier van der Weyden

The Crucifixion Triptych by Rogier van der Weyden

Mary at the cross

At the centre, Christ hangs on a tall cross against a clear sky and a deep, green landscape. At its foot Mary has thrown her arms around the upright, pressing her face against the wood, while John reaches to comfort her. Two small donor figures kneel at the right, admitted into the scene as witnesses. The grief is intimate: no crowd, no soldiers, only a mother and a friend and a dead man.

The wings

On the left panel stands Mary Magdalene with her jar of ointment; on the right, Saint Veronica holds the veil on which Christ’s face was imprinted. Both are elegantly dressed and set in the same continuous landscape, which runs behind all three panels as if seen through a single window.

Rogier’s early manner

Van der Weyden was the official painter of the city of Brussels and the most imitated artist in northern Europe. This small, portable triptych shows his gift for emotional intensity combined with precise, jewel-like detail.

Where it hangs

The triptych is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna; the central panel measures 101 by 70 centimetres.

About this print

Made from a 7,140-pixel photograph of the original, enough to print sharply at up to about 47 inches on its longest side.

Sources: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna · Wikidata Q1395192 · Wikimedia Commons