Angelico, Fra (c.1395-1455)
Crocifissione (The Crucifixion)
c.1420–1423
Tempera on wood, gold ground, 63.8 x 48.3 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
This early work by Fra Angelico accentuates the drama of the Crucifixion by showing the Virgin collapsed in grief with the lamenting Maries and emphasizing the varied attitudes of the Roman soldiers and their horses. There is an exquisite delicacy about this work that Fra Angelico will develop in his mature paintings. The innovative circular composition was inspired by the bronze doors created by Lorenzo Ghiberti for the Baptistry of Florence. (MET)