The Crucifixion - painting by Maerten van
Heemskerck
1543, Oil on panel, 334 x 270 cm - Museum voor Schone
Kunsten, Ghent
Scan & text courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art
| This work illustrates the influence
exerted in the Low Countries by the Italian Renaissance. A variety
of artists made the journey to Italy in the 16th century, where they
absorbed the new artistic ideas. Their work brought an entirely
new approach to religious painting compared to the pious, inward-looking
art of the 15th century. Novel elements included brilliant
compositions and above all the heightened attention to the human body -
a focus that led to frequent exaggeration.
Many of the paintings produced by the Haarlem artist Maerten van Heemskerck, who spent the years 1532-35 in Italy, stand out for their somewhat contrived poses and their element of theatricality. His Crucifixion, with its atmosphere of torment, heightened by the use of colour is a striking example of the Mannerist approach. |
Painting Gallery Subject Gallery
| Credits: The Crucifixion painting by Maerten van Heemskerck, courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art. Descriptive text courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art. Scan & text used by permission of Emil Kren. The Web Gallery of Art - http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/welcome.html Background pattern courtesy of the © |
