Name/Title
Crucifixion, TheEntry/Object ID
2005.02.030Description
Red wood panel bordered in green, black, and brown respectively titled "The Crucifixion" at the top in gold Cyrillic script. The main image features Christ on the cross with four onlookers, two female and two male, and is painted using mixed media of paint (likely tempera) and gold leaf. The background shows city with some onion dome buildings in red, pink, blue, and brown behind a grey brick wall, possibly reminiscent of the kremlin.Type of Painting
PanelCollection
Betsy Scheuring Icon CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2005.02Source or Donor
Betsy ScheuringAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Betsy ScheuringMade/Created
Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
* Untyped Place
Moscow, RussiaDimensions
Height
12-1/4 inWidth
10-1/2 inDepth
1 inExhibitions
Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)
Surveying the Sacred: Analysis of the Scheuring Collection of Eastern Orthodox Icons (2025)
Interpretative Labels
Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
It is a traditional rendering of the Crucifixion at Golgotha, showing Christ on the Cross with eyes closed in a white loincloth surrounded by the Virgin and Mary Magdalene on his right and the Apostle John and Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced Christ’s side with his lance on his left. Two weeping angels are stationed above the cross, which is in the Orthodox style and has additional horizontal wood pieces above Christ's head and at his feet. The instruments of the Passion appear within the scene: at Christ’s right is the spear and on his left is the sponge on a reed, used to give Christ vinegar when he asked for water. At the Lord’s feet appears the skull of Adam, said to have been exposed by an earthquake during the Crucifixion. In the upper left and right corners are the sun (which has darkened) and the moon (which has become bloody). In typical Byzantine fashion, the background and figures’ haloes are painted in gold. The crucifixion takes place before a grey-black brick wall with onion dome buildings behind it in red, brown, pink, and blue.