Detail of The Crucifixion by Joos van Cleve in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 2010

The Crucifixion
about 1525
Joos van Cleve, Flemish, active in 1511–died in 1540 or 1541

Dimensions: 80.4 x 63.2 cm (31 5/8 x 24 7/8 in.)

Medium or Technique: Oil on panel

Classification: Paintings
Type: Religious - New Testament

Accession Number: 12.170

One of the leading artists in sixteenth-century Antwerp, Joos combined such stylized and decorative elements as the arabesque flutter of Christ's loincloth with naturalistic details, including the greenish pallor of Christ's flesh. The weighty fall of the Virgin's cloak emphasizes her restrained grief, while Saint John's drapery reflects his agitation. Rather than rendering such details as the tiny party departing from the scene less distinctly to show that they are far away, Joos used color to demarcate distance-brown for the foreground, green for the middle ground, and blue for the background.

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-crucifixion-31426