Description
The Crucifixion in the right transept of the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi forms part of the monumental pictorial program developed under Cimabue's direction and serves as the counterpart to the great Crucifixion in the opposite transept.
The scene occupies a prominent position within the decoration devoted to the apostles Peter and Paul and demonstrates the artist's ability to transform traditional iconography into an image of intense emotional power. Christ dominates the centre of the composition upon a cross that provides the principal vertical axis of the scene. His body bends sideways, his head falls toward his shoulder and his arms extend beneath the weight of the figure. The painting's colours were altered by the deterioration of pigments. Comparisons with the opposite transept must therefore take its damaged condition into account.
