Giovanni Battista Cima, called Cima da Conegliano

Christ on the Cross with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist

Probably Conegliano, near Venice, about 1488-93

Tempera on wood

82.5 x 115.2 cm

The Virgin Mary and Saint John mourn at the foot of a tall cross.  To the right, Christ prays in the Garden of Gethsemane whilst his disciples sleep – the Agony in the Garden.  To the left are three sequential scenes from Christ’s Passion set within, or in front of, Pontius Pilate’s palace.  The Denial of Saint Peter is at the bottom; Pilate Washing his Hands is above alongside the Crowning with Thorns.

Cima worked in Conegliano near Venice, to where he moved in 1492.  This work may be earlier, though the landscape with its dramatic sky shows Cima’s knowledge of contemporary Venetian painting.

Purchased 1938 (No.38.4)