TripImprover - Get More out of Your Museum Visits!
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Museums
    • Alte Pinakothek
    • Art Institute of Chicago
    • Baltimore Museum of Art
    • Barber Institute of Fine Arts
    • Bargello
    • Barnes Foundation
    • British Museum
    • Church of Sant’Anastasia
    • Cleveland Museum of Art
    • Courtauld Institute of Art
    • Detroit Institute of Arts
    • Frans Hals Museum
    • Galleria Borghese
    • Gallerie dell'Accademia
    • Getty Museum
    • Guggenheim
    • Hermitage Museum
    • Kunsthistorisches Museum
    • Kunstmuseum Basel
    • Legion of Honor Museum
    • Louvre
    • Mauritshuis
    • Metropolitan Museum of Art
    • Musee d’Orsay
    • Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
    • Museum of Modern Art
    • National Gallery in London
    • National Gallery of Art
    • National Museum in Poznań
    • Norton Simon Museum
    • Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
    • Palace of Versailles
    • Palazzo Pitti
    • Palazzo Vecchio
    • Petit Palais
    • Philadelphia Museum of Art
    • Prado
    • Pushkin Museum
    • Ravenna Art Museum
    • Rijksmuseum
    • San Diego Museum of Art
    • Santa Maria delle Grazie
    • Städel Museum
    • Statens Museum for Kunst
    • Tate Britain
    • Tate Modern
    • Timken Museum of Art
    • Uffizi
    • Vatican Museums
    • Wallace Collection
  • Artists
    • Altdorfer
    • Anguissola
    • Berlin Painter
    • Bosch
    • Botticelli
    • Boucher
    • Bronzino
    • Bruegel the Elder
    • Cabanel
    • Caillebotte
    • Canova
    • Caravaggio
    • Carpeaux
    • Cezanne
    • Cimabue
    • David
    • Degas
    • Delacroix
    • De Maria
    • Donatello
    • El Greco
    • Fontana
    • Fra Angelico
    • Fragonard
    • Gauguin
    • Gentileschi
    • Gericault
    • Gonzalez-Torres
    • Goya
    • Hals
    • Hogarth
    • Hokusai
    • Ingres
    • Leonardo da Vinci
    • Lippi, Filippo
    • Longhi, Barbara
    • Lorrain
    • Makovsky
    • Manet
    • Massys
    • Matisse
    • Michelangelo
    • Modigliani
    • Monet
    • Panini
    • Parmigianino
    • Perugino
    • Picasso
    • Pisanello
    • Raphael
    • Rembrandt
    • Renoir
    • Reynolds
    • Rivera
    • Rodin
    • Rubens
    • Scultori
    • Seurat
    • Steen
    • Tintoretto
    • Titian
    • Toulouse-Lautrec
    • Turner
    • Uccello
    • Van der Weyden
    • Van Dyck
    • Van Eyck
    • Van Gogh
    • Van Hemessen
    • Vasari
    • Velazquez
    • Vermeer
    • Veronese
    • Vigée Le Brun
  • Locations
    • Austria >
      • Vienna
    • Denmark >
      • Copenhagen
    • England >
      • Birmingham
      • London
    • France >
      • Paris
      • Versailles
    • Germany >
      • Frankfurt
      • Munich
    • Italy >
      • Bologna
      • Florence
      • Milan
      • Ravenna
      • Rome
      • Venice
      • Verona
    • Poland >
      • Poznań
    • Russia >
      • Moscow
      • Saint Petersburg
    • Spain >
      • Madrid
    • Switzerland >
      • Basel
    • The Netherlands >
      • Amsterdam
      • Haarlem
      • The Hague
    • United States >
      • Baltimore
      • Boston
      • Chicago
      • Cleveland
      • Detroit
      • Los Angeles
      • New York
      • Pasadena
      • Philadelphia
      • San Diego
      • San Francisco
      • Washington, DC
  • Books
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Friends and Resources

The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew by Caravaggio

7/26/2019

0 Comments

 
The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew by Caravaggio in the Cleveland Museum of Art
​Where? Gallery 217 of the Cleveland Museum of Art
When? 1606-1607
Commissioned by? Probably Juan Alonso Pimentel de Herrera, the Count of Benavente, Spain, and the ruler of Naples.
What do you see? The crucifixion of Saint Andrew. He is tied with ropes to a cross. Saint Andrew has just died, and Caravaggio shows great skill in depicting the moment that Saint Andrew transitions from life to death. You can see in Saint Andrew’s face the combination of a long-suffering and the relief that he can finally die. The executioner on the left stands on a ladder and is about to untighten a rope around the right wrist of Saint Andrew. He wants to take the dead body of the cross.

On the bottom right are three other executioners. The man in the foreground, wearing the armor, is the governor of the region where Saint Andrew is crucified. The governor, Aegeas, ordered the crucifixion as Saint Andrew converted his wife to Christianity. He looks in a somewhat arrogant way at what just happened – the way in which Saint Andrew died. Behind him, you can see the open mouth of another executioner who is surprised by the event that just occurred. On the bottom left, a poor woman has her hands folded and seems to be in her thoughts.  

Backstory: Saint Andrew preached in Greece several years after Jesus had died. After he converted the wife of the governor to Christianity, the governor ordered his crucifixion in the city of Patras. Instead of nailing him on the cross, like what happened to Jesus, they bound Saint Andrew to the cross such that he would suffer longer.

According to some legends, Saint Andrew continued to preach from the cross to a large crowd for two straight days. At that time, the crowd demanded his release from the cross, and the governor agreed with this request to prevent riots. However, right at the moment that they wanted to take Saint Andrew of the cross alive, the arms of the executioners froze, and God honored the prayer of Saint Andrew to die on the cross.

Who is Saint Andrew? Andrew the Apostle was one of the disciples that was closest to Jesus. After the death of Jesus, he traveled the world to preach the Christian religion. It has been reported that he preached in Greece, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Saint Andrew is the brother of Saint Peter. They were the first disciples of Jesus, and are mentioned in all four gospels.

​Between 1603 and 1606, Caravaggio has painted The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew. This painting is part of the British Royal Collection and on display in the Hampton Court Palace in England. In 1601, Caravaggio also painted the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, which is in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome.
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by Caravaggio in the British Royal Collection
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by Caravaggio
Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Caravaggio in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome
Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Caravaggio
A real Caravaggio? Caravaggio painted this work while he was in Naples. In 1610, the Spanish ruler of Naples, Juan Alonso Pimentel de Herrera, took the painting with him to Spain. It was in possession of his family until at least 1653, but there is no evidence of the existence of this painting after that. It was lost for over 300 years.

In 1973, it appeared again in the collection of a Spanish art collector, but it took a few years to show that this was a real Caravaggio. The reason is that are at least three high-quality copies of this painting. Comparing the four versions, only the current version displays the superb painting skills of Caravaggio. The Cleveland Museum of Art acquired the painting in 1976. However, as of recently, one of the other three versions is also considered to be a real Caravaggio painting.

Saint Andrew’s cross: The most common story about the death of Saint Andrew is that he was crucified on an x-shaped cross. This is called a Saint Andrew’s cross. However, according to one of the earliest sources on the death of Saint Andrew, the Acts of Andrew, he was bound to a normally-shaped (upright) cross. At the time that Caravaggio painted this work, there was still debate about the true shape of Saint Andrew’s cross, and Caravaggio chose for the upright cross.

Who is Caravaggio? Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born in 1573 in Milan and died in 1610 in Porto Ercole, Italy. He is one of the founders of Baroque painting. He was a master in realistically depicting both the physical and mental state of the subjects in his paintings. He was also very innovative in the way he used the contrast between light and dark to emphasize certain aspects in his works. Most of his works are famous nowadays. One example is Bacchus which is in the Uffizi Museum in Florence. Another example is The Musicians in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Bacchus by Caravaggio in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Bacchus by Caravaggio
The Musicians by Caravaggio in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
The Musicians by Caravaggio
​Fun fact: Caravaggio lived a turbulent life, and this is reflected in his art. He had a preference for more cruel topics. For his paintings, he frequently used people he met on the streets as models. These people ranged from prostitutes to criminals, and from con people to sick people. Unlike many other artists, Caravaggio painted them realistically and did not idealize them. As a result, the figures in his paintings have provided quite some inspiration for medical professionals who liked to diagnose some of the diseases that they would recognize in his work.

An example of the diseases found in Caravaggio's models is the woman in the lower left of this painting. She has been diagnosed to suffer from nodular goiter, an enlarged thyroid gland, which leads to a large swelling in the neck. This disease was quite prevalent in Italy, and especially near Naples, at the beginning of the 17th century. The disease still exists today. As an example, both Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara have been diagnosed with goiter during their life.
Interested in a copy for yourself? Poster or canvas.

Written by Eelco Kappe

References:
  • Lurie, Ann T. and Denis Mahon (1977), “Caravaggio's Crucifixion of Saint Andrew from Valladolid,” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 64(1), 2-24.
  • Martino, Enio (2001), “Endocrinology and Art: The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew,” Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 24(5), 386.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Academic Art
    Altdorfer
    Alte Pinakothek
    Amsterdam
    Anguissola
    Art Institute Of Chicago
    Baltimore
    Baltimore Museum Of Art
    Barber Institute Of Fine Arts
    Bargello
    Barnes Foundation
    Baroque
    Basel
    Berlin Painter
    Birmingham
    Bologna
    Bosch
    Boston
    Botticelli
    Boucher
    British Museum
    Bronzino
    Bruegel The Elder
    Byzantine Art
    Cabanel
    Caillebotte
    Canova
    Caravaggio
    Carpeaux
    Cezanne
    Cézanne
    Chicago
    Cimabue
    Classical Antiquity
    Cleveland
    Cleveland Museum Of Art
    Copenhagen
    Courtauld Gallery
    Cubism
    David
    Degas
    Delacroix
    De Maria
    Detroit
    Detroit Institute Of Arts
    Donatello
    El Greco
    Filippo Lippi
    Florence
    Fontana
    Fra Angelico
    Fragonard
    Frankfurt
    Frans Hals Museum
    Galleria Borghese
    Gallerie Dell'Accademia
    Gauguin
    Gentileschi
    Gericault
    Getty Museum
    Gonzalez-Torres
    Gothic
    Goya
    Grand Style
    Guggenheim
    Haarlem
    Hals
    Hermitage
    Hogarth
    Hokusai
    Impressionism
    Ingres
    International Gothic
    Kunsthistorisches Museum
    Kunstmuseum
    Legion Of Honor
    Leonardo Da Vinci
    London
    Longhi
    Lorrain
    Los Angeles
    Louvre
    Madrid
    Makovsky
    Manet
    Massys
    Matisse
    Mauritshuis
    Metropolitan Museum Of Art
    Michelangelo
    Milan
    Modern Art
    Modigliani
    Monet
    Moscow
    Munich
    Musee D'Orsay
    Museum Of Fine Arts
    Museum Of Modern Art
    National Gallery In London
    National Gallery Of Art
    National Museum In Poznan
    Neoclassicism
    New York
    Northern Renaissance
    Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek
    Palace Of Versailles
    Palazzo Pitti
    Palazzo Vecchio
    Panini
    Paris
    Parmigianino
    Perugino
    Petit Palais
    Philadelphia
    Philadelphia Museum Of Art
    Picasso
    Pinacoteca Nazionale
    Pisanello
    Post Impressionism
    Poznan
    Prado
    Pushkin Museum
    Raphael
    Ravenna
    Realism
    Rembrandt
    Renaissance
    Renoir
    Reynolds
    Rijksmuseum
    Rivera
    Rococo
    Rodin
    Romanticism
    Rome
    Rubens
    Saint Petersburg
    San Diego
    San Diego Museum Of Art
    San Francisco
    Scultori
    Seurat
    Sfumato
    Sistine Chapel
    Social Realism
    Spanish Renaissance
    Statens Museum For Kunst
    Steen
    Tate Britain
    Tate Modern
    The Hague
    Timken Museum Of Art
    Tintoretto
    Titian
    Toulouse Lautrec
    Toulouse-Lautrec
    Turner
    Uccello
    Uffizi
    Ukiyo-e
    Van Der Weyden
    Van Dyck
    Van Eyck
    Van Gogh
    Van Hemessen
    Vasari
    Vatican Museums
    Veduta
    Velázquez
    Venice
    Vermeer
    Verona
    Veronese
    Vienna
    Vigee Le Brun
    Wallace Collection
    Washington

Home

Blog

BOOKS

Contact

© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Museums
    • Alte Pinakothek
    • Art Institute of Chicago
    • Baltimore Museum of Art
    • Barber Institute of Fine Arts
    • Bargello
    • Barnes Foundation
    • British Museum
    • Church of Sant’Anastasia
    • Cleveland Museum of Art
    • Courtauld Institute of Art
    • Detroit Institute of Arts
    • Frans Hals Museum
    • Galleria Borghese
    • Gallerie dell'Accademia
    • Getty Museum
    • Guggenheim
    • Hermitage Museum
    • Kunsthistorisches Museum
    • Kunstmuseum Basel
    • Legion of Honor Museum
    • Louvre
    • Mauritshuis
    • Metropolitan Museum of Art
    • Musee d’Orsay
    • Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
    • Museum of Modern Art
    • National Gallery in London
    • National Gallery of Art
    • National Museum in Poznań
    • Norton Simon Museum
    • Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
    • Palace of Versailles
    • Palazzo Pitti
    • Palazzo Vecchio
    • Petit Palais
    • Philadelphia Museum of Art
    • Prado
    • Pushkin Museum
    • Ravenna Art Museum
    • Rijksmuseum
    • San Diego Museum of Art
    • Santa Maria delle Grazie
    • Städel Museum
    • Statens Museum for Kunst
    • Tate Britain
    • Tate Modern
    • Timken Museum of Art
    • Uffizi
    • Vatican Museums
    • Wallace Collection
  • Artists
    • Altdorfer
    • Anguissola
    • Berlin Painter
    • Bosch
    • Botticelli
    • Boucher
    • Bronzino
    • Bruegel the Elder
    • Cabanel
    • Caillebotte
    • Canova
    • Caravaggio
    • Carpeaux
    • Cezanne
    • Cimabue
    • David
    • Degas
    • Delacroix
    • De Maria
    • Donatello
    • El Greco
    • Fontana
    • Fra Angelico
    • Fragonard
    • Gauguin
    • Gentileschi
    • Gericault
    • Gonzalez-Torres
    • Goya
    • Hals
    • Hogarth
    • Hokusai
    • Ingres
    • Leonardo da Vinci
    • Lippi, Filippo
    • Longhi, Barbara
    • Lorrain
    • Makovsky
    • Manet
    • Massys
    • Matisse
    • Michelangelo
    • Modigliani
    • Monet
    • Panini
    • Parmigianino
    • Perugino
    • Picasso
    • Pisanello
    • Raphael
    • Rembrandt
    • Renoir
    • Reynolds
    • Rivera
    • Rodin
    • Rubens
    • Scultori
    • Seurat
    • Steen
    • Tintoretto
    • Titian
    • Toulouse-Lautrec
    • Turner
    • Uccello
    • Van der Weyden
    • Van Dyck
    • Van Eyck
    • Van Gogh
    • Van Hemessen
    • Vasari
    • Velazquez
    • Vermeer
    • Veronese
    • Vigée Le Brun
  • Locations
    • Austria >
      • Vienna
    • Denmark >
      • Copenhagen
    • England >
      • Birmingham
      • London
    • France >
      • Paris
      • Versailles
    • Germany >
      • Frankfurt
      • Munich
    • Italy >
      • Bologna
      • Florence
      • Milan
      • Ravenna
      • Rome
      • Venice
      • Verona
    • Poland >
      • Poznań
    • Russia >
      • Moscow
      • Saint Petersburg
    • Spain >
      • Madrid
    • Switzerland >
      • Basel
    • The Netherlands >
      • Amsterdam
      • Haarlem
      • The Hague
    • United States >
      • Baltimore
      • Boston
      • Chicago
      • Cleveland
      • Detroit
      • Los Angeles
      • New York
      • Pasadena
      • Philadelphia
      • San Diego
      • San Francisco
      • Washington, DC
  • Books
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Friends and Resources