Tiepolo, Giambattista (1696-1770)
La crocifissione (The Crucifixion)
1745–1750
Oil on canvas, 79.4 x 88.3 cm
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis
Giambattista Tiepolo’s painting of the crucifixion and death of Christ is infused with fresh energy. Before Tiepolo, most artists arranged this scene with Christ’s cross in the center and the two thieves positioned symmetrically on either side, so that the viewer could address the image of Christ directly. Here Tiepolo has shifted the viewer’s position to the right side of the grouping, yielding an oblique viewpoint. This is one way that he makes the scene more dynamic and exciting. To increase such effects, Tiepolo applied the paint with a dazzling, almost shorthand technique that creates energetic lines capable of suggesting the motion of a charging horse or the agony of a dying man. (SLAM)