Artwork
The Crucifixion
The Crucifixion is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Cornelis Engebrechtsz.. It dates from 1530 and is held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
About this work
Overview
Cornelis Engebrechtsz., an early 16th‑century Dutch painter active in Leiden, produced an oil painting titled *The Crucifixion* circa 1530. Executed in the Northern Renaissance idiom, the work presents the biblical episode of Christ’s death on the cross, surrounded by a gathering of onlookers and a modest landscape that recedes into a muted horizon.
Subject & Meaning
The central composition features three crucified figures, the middle one representing Jesus, while a varied crowd of kneeling and standing witnesses occupies the foreground. The arrangement emphasizes the theological focus on sacrifice and redemption, inviting contemplation of the event’s spiritual significance amid a subdued, almost timeless setting.
Technique & Style
Engebrechtsz. employs a restrained palette of black, white and gray, creating a somber atmosphere through careful modulation of light and shadow. The chiaroscuro effect deepens the silhouettes of the crucified bodies, making them appear to hover against a lighter background, while the distant town and trees are rendered with delicate, atmospheric brushwork.
History & Provenance
Recognized as Leiden’s first notable painter, Engebrechtsz. also mentored artists such as his son Cornelis and Lucas van Leyden, who later eclipsed his fame. *The Crucifixion* entered the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, where it remains accessible to the public as part of the institution’s Dutch Renaissance holdings.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis Engebrechtsz., also known as Cornelis Engelbrechtsz. (c.1462–1527) was an early Dutch painter. He was born and died in Leiden, and is considered the first important painter from that city. Engebrechtsz. taught…
Museum
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Continue through works from the same source collection.
The Crucifixion with Donors and Saints Peter and Margaret
Christ on the cross with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalen, and Sts Cecilia and Barbara (left), and Sts Peter, Francis and Jerome (right)
Crucifixion with the Virgin, Mary Magdalen and St John the Evangelist
The Baptism of Christ
Ss Cecilia,Mary Magdalene with donatrix,lamentation flanked by other six Sorrows of Mary, Ss James Great,Martin of Tours an Augustine monk
Lamentation of Christ
Christ Taking Leave of his Mother
Knight Jan van Eden
