Bible in art · John

The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene

Perugino · c. 1482/1485
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Pietro Perugino painted this small triptych in the early 1480s, probably for Bartolommeo Bartoli, bishop of Cagli, who gave it to a church in San Gimignano. In the 1800s it was thought to be by Perugino’s pupil Raphael; it hung in the Hermitage before Andrew Mellon bought it in 1931.

There is no crowd and no violence. Mary and John stand quietly at the foot of the cross, and the saints in the side panels stand in the same calm landscape that runs behind all three.

From the text

Mary near the cross with the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 19:25–26)
“Woman, here is your son” (John 19:26)
Mary Magdalene near the cross (John 19:25)
Pilate’s notice on the cross (John 19:19)

The artist’s own

Saint Jerome, who lived four centuries later, as a hermit with a lion — as painters usually showed him
A jar beside Mary Magdalene, her usual sign in painting
The notice shortened to the letters INRI
A peaceful Italian landscape with a river and a distant town

Details

The cross

Jesus on the cross against a clear sky, a white cloth fluttering at his side.

Mary

In a dark blue mantle, hands folded, head bowed.

John

In a red cloak, hands joined, looking up.

Saint Jerome

An old hermit with a staff; a small lion stands behind him.

Mary Magdalene

In green and pink, hands folded; her jar stands on a rock at the left.

Pietro Perugino, Umbrian, c. 1450–1523. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.27.a-c) · Oil on panel transferred to canvas · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)

The verses

John 19:17–30Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home. After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

See it at the museum’s site