Crucifix with Maria Magdalen - Luca Signorelli

Crucifix with Maria Magdalen

Luca Signorelli

Circa A.D. 1502-1505

Originally located at the Convent of San Vincenzo d’Annalena (Building Destroyed)

Restored 1989

Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: 247 x 165 cm

Nineteenth-Century Frame

Uffizi Gallery, Florence – Leonardo Room as of 1919

The painter of Crucifix with Maria Magdalen, Luca Signorelli, was born in either A.D. 1445 or 1450 in Cortona, Tuscany.  He was both a painter and an active citizen, for “In 1479 he was elected to the Council of 18 in his native Cortona, and for the rest of his life he was active in politics” (Britannica 2014).  Pierro della Francesca may have been Signorelli’s teacher during the 1460’s.  In 1483 Signorelli travelled to Rome to paint frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and assisted with the painting of both “The Testament and Death of Moses” and “Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter,” along with the lower part of the chapel wall (Morris 2012).

The most famous works of art attributed to Luca Signorelli are “the frescoes of ‘The End of the World’ and the ‘Last Judgment’” painted in Orvieto Cathedral between 1499 and 1502 (Britannica 2014).  Signorelli died on October 16, 1523 in Cortona, the city where he was born.

Signorelli’s signature style demonstrates a very Florentine influence, especially in his natural depictions of the nude human body.  Roderick Conway Morris, writing for the New York Times, observes that Signorelli’s “boldly modeled and candidly presented nudes” had “a telling effect not only on Michelangelo, but also on Raphael and other artists of the High Renaissance” (Morris 2012).  Signorelli’s skill at painting nude males is seen in his Crucifix with Maria Magdalen.  In this piece, he paints Jesus Christ on the cross with clearly defined muscles on the arms, legs, and abdomen.

The iconography in this painting is complex.  In the background, many scenes play out concurrently.  To the viewer’s right a soldier is seen with two figures who likely represent St. John and Mary the mother of Jesus.  These figures were also present at the crucifixion of Christ (John 19:25-27).  On the viewer’s right and beyond the three figures are two closely related scenes.  Above, the friends and family of Christ carefully lower His body from the cross.  Just underneath this event is a depiction of Christ’s lifeless body being carried away for burial.  To the viewer’s left are two additional scenes.  On top of a cliff is a colonnade representing “ruins of ancient Rome, including a replica of Castel Sant’Angelo” (Uffizi Gallery N.D.).  Also on the left, behind Mary Magdalene and below the ruins of Rome, is a man who appears to be sitting or kneeling and praying.  Finally, the backdrop of the entire painting is a sky of billowing clouds extending into the horizon, representing Christ’s heavenly kingdom and His rule over all the earth.

In the foreground, one observes Mary Magdalene with one arm towards Christ in love and the other flung back toward the world, as if to say that Christ is dying on the cross for all mankind.  Jesus Christ himself hangs powerfully on the cross – He does not slump, and his facial expression appears as if He is ready to assume the burden of the world’s sins.  Below the foot of the cross are two very important symbols: a skull and flowers.

The skull at the feet of Christ carries three possible symbolisms:

First, the skull is a reference to the place where Christ was crucified.  According to the Holy Bible, during the Crucifixion the Roman executioners “[brought] him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The [Sic] place of a skull” (Mark 15:22, KJV).  Golgotha was the name of a hill outside of Jerusalem where Jews and later Romans executed criminals.  Furthermore, just as Golgotha is Aramaic, “Calvary is the Latin form of the word” (Stump N.D.), and “In Greek, the first written language of the New Testament, Golgotha was translated ‘Kranios,’ a word similar to our ‘cranium’” (Kasten 2000).  Therefore the skull lying on the ground below Christ is a visual name-tag for the hill where He died.

Second, the skull may connect to the first man created by God – Adam.  Upon examination of the Triptych, a 1338 painting by Bernardo Daddi, one researcher writes: “According to an ancient Eastern tradition, Adam was buried on Golgotha and his son, Seth, planted a tree on his grave which was later used to make Christ's cross. From the late 10th century onwards in western art Adam's skull was sometimes shown at the foot of Christ's cross as a reminder of this story” (Courtauld Institute of Art N.D.).  This theory is further reinforced in Russian art depicting the crucifixion.  In Russian Christian art, the skull placed below the cross is the skull of Adam.  According to a Roman Catholic journalist, a letter written by St. Jerome in A.D. 386 suggests that the idea of Adam being buried near the cross has existed for centuries.  The skull as a symbol for the first man Adam makes a poignant statement in Crucifix with Maria Magdalen.  By representing Adam with a skull, the idea of original sin and the entrance of death into the world is depicted.  However, Paul calls Christ the “second” or “last Adam” and writes: “The first Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45, KJV).  Sin entered the world through the first Adam and brought death.  But Jesus Christ was the perfect man, the “last Adam,” and through His death brought new life and hope into the world.

Third, the skull symbolizes death being conquered by Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.  In traditional iconography, a skull and crossbones represents death.  Therefore, by painting a skull beneath Christ, Signorelli visually demonstrates that Christ is facing Death and, specifically, that Christ is above Death.  By sacrificing Himself on the cross, Christ descended into Hell to conquer Death, and after three days He rose again as He prophesied (Mark 8:31).  Therefore, placing the skull at the foot of the cross places Death quite literally under the feet, and under the authority, of Jesus Christ.

There is one final piece of symbolism to be discussed in this painting.  One might wonder why the hilltop of Golgotha is barren except for some flowers springing up from the foreground.  The flowers symbolize new life, and by placing the flowers on Golgotha, Signorelli makes a statement about Christ’s ability to bring new spiritual life.  As stated when discussing the symbolism of Adam’s skull, Christ’s death brings life to all those who believe in Him (John 3:16).  Christian Scripture states that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV).  Those who choose to accept the Lordship and forgiveness of Jesus Christ receive eternal spiritual life in Him.  The flowers on the hill of Calvary represent this new life given to Christians.  By accepting Christ, those who were sinners are brought out of the old life of sin inherited from Adam (represented by the skull) and placed into a new life of holiness made possible by Jesus Christ.

Different contexts allow viewers of this painting to understand the skull symbolism in various ways.  Without the context of Christian Church history, the skull appears to only represent death.  For Christians, the skull represents not only the death of Christ Himself, but the death of all men through sin.  Furthermore, viewers lacking Christian context would not understand the significance of Christ's death on the cross (and His later Resurrection) as an atonement for sin and defeat of death.  Understanding Russian Christian art lends even more symbolism to the skull, as it represents God's first created man, Adam, and links the original sin of Adam to the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
 

References

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. 2014. "Luca Signorelli - Italian Painter." Encyclopaedia Britannica. August 18. Accessed March 17, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543812/Luca-Signorelli.

Courtauld Institute of Art. N.D. "Skull at the foot of the cross." Art and Architecture. N.D. N.D. Accessed March 17, 2015. http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/fourpaintings/daddi/inner_right_wing/skull.html.

Kasten, Patricia. 2000. "Was Adam Buried at the Foot of Christ's Cross?" The Compass, April 14. Accessed March 17, 2015. http://www.thecompassnews.org/compass/2000-04-14/00cn0414f1.htm.

Morris, Roderick Conway. 2012. "The Soaring Legacy of Luca Signorelli." The New York Times. May 23. Accessed March 17, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/arts/24iht-conway24.html?_r=0.

Stump, Keith W. N.D. "Where Was Golgotha?" Grace Communion International. N.D. N.D. Accessed March 17, 2015. https://www.gci.org/Jesus/golgotha.

Uffizi Gallery. N.D. "Crucifix with Maria Magdalen." Virtual Uffizi Gallery. N.D. N.D. Accessed March 17, 2015. http://www.virtualuffizi.com/crucifix-with-maria-magdalen.html.

—. N.D. "Crucifix with Mary Magdalen." Luca Signorelli. Florence, N.D. N.D. Accessed February 28, 2015.

—. N.D. "Luca Signorelli." Virtual Uffizi Gallery. N.D. N.D. Accessed March 17, 2015. http://www.virtualuffizi.com/luca-signorelli.html.

Artist's Portrait: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Signorelli,_Luca_-_selfportrait_alone.jpg

Report by Austin D. Caldwell - 2015