WEYDEN, Rogier van der
(b. 1400, Tournai, d. 1464, Bruxelles)

Crucifixion

1440s
Oil on oak panel, 77 x 47 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

As in the Crucifixion Triptych (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), the Virgin Mary is here embracing the upright of the Cross, this time even more emotionally. The landscape is a later overpainting. Originally there was a flat gold background here, beginning immediately behind St John, with a multicoloured aureole around Christ, its colours reflected in the angels. The crucified Christ is of an older, elongated type, as still seen in the Pietà of the Miraflores Altarpiece (Staatliche Museen, Berlin). The finely executed work unites figures reminiscent of both Rogier and the Master of Flémalle; it was probably painted by the workshop of Rogier.