Michelangelo produced several drawings related to Christ's sufferings (Crucifixion, Descent from the Cross, Lamentation, Pietà) during his long career. The final decades of his life were characterized by a heightened religious feeling. His thinking was influenced by the leading personalities in the church reform movement, but the most important influence was that of the poetess Vittoria Colonna (c. 1491-1547), who had been linked to Michelangelo by a close platonic friendship since around 1534. In 1538 Colonna presented Michelangelo with a copy of her poems, which had just been published, and the artist gave her a number of religious drawings, including a Crucifixion.

After 1555, Michelangelo executed a series of impressive drawings depicting the crucified Christ in the presence of the Virgin Mary and St John. In these scenes Michelangelo refrained from any scenic elements, leaving the background completely neutral. Each of these drawings depicts fundamental human emotions in a very different manner; the sheets are among Michelangelo's most moving creations.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	The Crucifixion of Christ and the Two Thieves 1522-24 Red chalk, 394 x 281 mm British Museum, London
	Studies for the Descent from the Cross (recto) 1522-24 Red chalk over drawing in stylus, 271 x 191 mm Teylers Museum, Haarlem
	Head Studies and a Female Figure Leaning Forward (verso) 1522-24 Red and black chalk, 271 x 191 mm Teylers Museum, Haarlem
	The Lamentation of Christ 1523-25 Red chalk, partially over a drawing in black chalk, 320 x 249 mm Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
	The Lamentation of Christ 1531-34 Red chalk over black chalk, 411 x 234 mm Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
	Male Nude Surrounded by Several Figures 1532-34 Black chalk on primed paper, 285 x 248 mm Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt
	Studies of the Crucified Christ (recto) 1534-36 Black chalk, 330 x 229 mm Teylers Museum, Haarlem
	Study for the Colonna Pietà c. 1538 Black chalk, 295 x 195 mm Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
	Christ on the Cross c. 1541 Black and white chalk, 368 x 268 mm British Museum, London
	Epiphany 1550-53 Black chalk on paper, 2327 x 1656 mm British Museum, London
	Crucified Christ with Mary and John c. 1550 Black chalk and white paint for corrections, 413 x 286 mm British Museum, London
	Christ on the Cross with the Virgin and St John 1555-64 Black chalk, white heightening, 412 x 279 mm British Museum, London
	Christ on the Cross with the Virgin and St John (recto) 1555-64 Black chalk, traces of red chalk, 405 x 218 mm Royal Collection, Windsor
	Christ on the Cross with the Virgin and St John 1555-64 Black chalk and white heightening, 382 x 210 mm Royal Collection, Windsor
	Christ Crucified between the Virgin and St John c. 1552-54 Black chalk, brown wash and white lead, 433 x 290 mm Musée du Louvre, Paris
	Descent from the Cross 1555 Red chalk on pale buff paper, 375 x 280 mm Ashmolean Museum, Oxford