Painted Crucifix from San Marco

This monumental painted crucifix by Pietro Lorenzetti shows the dead Christ on the cross, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist at either end of the crossbeam. Christ blessing appears above. Originally in the church of San Marco in Cortona, the work brings together Sienese Gothic devotional imagery, a carefully modelled body, a solemn expression and richly patterned gilding.

A large painted cross was not experienced as merely one illustration among many. Its size and shaped outline allowed Christ’s figure to dominate a sacred interior and remain recognisable from different positions in the church. Looking might begin with the central body, but the smaller scenes at the ends added theological meaning. The object thus brought together the immediate power of a suffering figure and a carefully organised structure of interconnected images.