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Catalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 174: 

Technical notes: The support consists of a single
piece of medium weight plain weave fabric that is evenly
and densely woven. Tacking edges are present on all four
sides. The painting is in its original format as cusping is
visible along all four edges which are only partly grounded
and painted over. The painting has not been lined and
is mounted on an original strainer. The canvas was prepared
with a thick brownish ground that covers the
structure of the fabric completely. The paint layer consists
of opaque colours that totally cover the underlying
preparatory layers. The figures in the foreground were
painted in reserves. The figures in the background are
crudely executed and painted directly over the foreground
and background. The paint layer is subtly modulated
in the rendering of the figures. The flesh tones are
applied gently while the execution of the main figures is
somewhat stiff. Small pentimenti can be seen in the contours
of the figures. The palette is rich with red, blue,
green, yellow pigments as well as a range of sombre earth
colours. The painting underwent conservation treatment
in 1947.

Provenance: Donated in 1868 by Queen Joséphine.

Bibliography: Göthe 1910, p. 321; Von Wurzbach II
1910, p. 594; NM Cat. 1958, p. 183; NM Cat. 1990, p. 330.

The motif of this painting is the Crucifixion, with
Christ on the Cross in the centre of the image. Next to
the cross Mary Magdalene is portrayed kneeling with
her customary flowing hair and a devout expression.
John and the Virgin Mary are depicted standing next
to Jesus. In the background to the left a number of soldiers
are portrayed, one on horseback wearing 17th
century garments rather than Roman armour. In the
middle ground to the right are a number of anonymous
figures and there are mountainous slopes in the
background.

Above this representation of the three figures on
their crosses there is a dramatic sky with racing clouds.
To the right the heavens are opening slightly and a ray
of light illuminates the image. In the centre of the sky
three putti are portrayed looking down at Christ on
the cross. The figures on the crosses are depicted with
their bodies stretched out, conspicuous muscularity
and in distorted poses that enhance the expression of
their suffering. To this we can add the fabrics that flutter
in the baroque manner around the crucified bodies,
the racing clouds, the rhetorical gestures of Mary
Magdalene, Mary and John, which all further emphasise
the drama, movement and emotionality that finds
expression in this work.

The painting is signed “C. Schut” and is executed in
a profuse palette of red, blue, yellow and green pigments
and sombre subdued range of earth colours.
Technical examination indicates that the painting has
probably not been trimmed but is still in its original
format. On stylistic grounds the painting can be attributed
to Cornelis Schut II, a painter who worked mainly
in Seville. Similarities can be observed, for instance,
between the Nationalmusuem’s painting and a work
depicting the Martyrdom of St. George in the Koninklijk
Museum Voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp in the
exaggerated muscularity of the figures, their distorted
poses and the perspective, as well as in the powerful
movement and drama of the compositions.1
KS

1 Martyrdom of St. George, 1653, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten,
Antwerp, inv. no. 327. [End]

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