The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew

Caravaggio painted The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew in 1606-7, during his exile in Naples after he had killed a man in Rome and fled with a price on his head. He was 35 years old and at the height of his powers, producing the dark, dramatic paintings that would influence generations of painters across Europe. The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew is the largest painting Caravaggio ever made, and it is one of only two major Caravaggio paintings in American museums. The painting shows the crucifixion of Saint Andrew, who was martyred in Patras, Greece, around 60 AD. According to tradition, Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, but Caravaggio shows him on a regular cross, tilted diagonally against the dark background. Andrew's body is old and emaciated, his face turned toward the viewer with an expression of patient suffering. Around him, a crowd of figures reacts to the execution: a soldier on horseback, a group of women, and a man who reaches up to cut the ropes. The painting was commissioned by the Viceroy of Naples, Don Juan Alonso Pimentel de Herrera, for a church in Naples. Caravaggio had arrived in Naples in October 1606, after fleeing Rome following the murder of Ranuccio Tomassoni. He was the most famous painter in Italy, and his arrival in Naples caused a sensation. He painted three major works during his stay: The Seven Acts of Mercy, The Flagellation of Christ, and The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew. All three were painted in a few months, at a furious pace. The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew is built on Caravaggio's signature technique of chiaroscuro: the strong contrast between light and dark. The figures emerge from a dark, undefined background, illuminated by a single source of light that falls from the upper left. The light picks out the body of Andrew, the faces of the women, and the hand of the man cutting the ropes. Everything else is in shadow, giving the painting a claustrophobic, theatrical quality. Oil on canvas, 289 by 202 centimeters. Caravaggio painted with a direct, physical touch, building the figures in thick, opaque strokes of warm flesh tone. The cross is painted in dark, heavy strokes of brown, with the wood grain suggested by the direction of the brushwork. The background is painted in thin, dark layers of brown and black, which give the painting its deep, enveloping shadow. The surface has the raw, worked quality of a painting made quickly, with the forms built directly on the canvas. The vertical format and dark palette make this print work well in a study, dining room, or hallway. The dark browns, warm flesh tones, and dramatic lighting pair with dark wood, white walls, and rooms with a serious or religious mood. The 16x20 or 18x24 size gives the figure room to read. The painting has a powerful, dramatic quality that commands attention in any room. The painting entered the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1976, purchased with funds from the Hanna Fund. It is the most important Baroque painting in the museum's collection. This is a CC0 artwork from the Cleveland Museum of Art. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 18x24 inches, framed or unframed.