The Circle of Hans Memling (about 1430 – 1494)

Christ on the Cross, with a Donor

Possibly Bruges, Belgium, the 1480s

Oil on wood

44 x 33 cm

The cross appears in a minutely observed landscape, with an image of Jerusalem behind.  On the hill to the left, Christ is shown on the night prior to his capture, a subject known as the Agony in the Garden.

The kneeling figure is unknown, but he presumably commissioned the work as a devotional aid, perhaps for a private chapel.  Unusually, the donor is not accompanied by his patron saint and he appears on the same scale as Christ.

Purchased 1960 (No.60.8)