The Crucifixion  1675

by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

This poignant depiction of Christ on the Cross is an oil sketch that relates to a large painting in the Prado, Madrid. Murillo created a perfect focus for meditation: the sun has set, the cloudy sky is streaked with moonlight, and in the dim background Jerusalem can be seen. The picture may be the "little Crucifixion" that was owned by Sebastián Martínez, whose portrait by...
Credit: 
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art