Christus aan het kruis Possibly 1630 - 1702

Editor: We are looking at "Christus aan het kruis," or "Christ on the Cross," an engraving from possibly 1630-1702, attributed to an anonymous artist. It’s a pretty classic depiction, but something about the composition feels very deliberate and… theatrical. What do you see in this piece, from an iconographic perspective? Curator: This engraving, with its baroque sensibility, is a masterclass in symbolic layering. Look at the skulls at the base of the cross. What do they evoke for you? Editor: Well, death, obviously, mortality. Skulls always make me think of memento mori. Curator: Exactly. The skulls serve as potent symbols of death and the grave, but more profoundly, they are emblems of Adam. The place of crucifixion, according to tradition, is also the burial place of Adam. Christ's sacrifice, therefore, redeems humanity from Adam's original sin, which gives meaning to death in Christian cultures. But observe how the artist contrasts them with the upward gaze of the mourners. What feeling does that generate? Editor: A sense of hope, maybe? Despite the death and suffering, there’s still a sense of looking towards something beyond. I guess the cross, of course, stands as an evocative Christian symbol. Curator: Precisely. Consider how the artist arranged the figures - the sorrow of Mary, the defiant anguish of the crucified criminals. What emotions are embedded in their gestures and positions, especially set against the central figure of Christ? Editor: There’s definitely a visual language of suffering and hope that gets created with all these combined, which emphasizes, even magnifies, the meaning of it all. Thank you! Curator: Indeed, it allows the symbols and story to really permeate, across centuries.