A brief tour through eight centuries of crucifixions
The oldest known depiction of the Crucifixion of Jesus seems to be some Roman graffiti from about the year 200 AD.
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 8, 2023
It's called the Alexamenos Graffito and it's a mockery of Christianity – Jesus has the head of a donkey and the words say: "Alexamenos worships his God." pic.twitter.com/S4R14fweYO
By Andrea Mantegna (1460) – Early Renaissance
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 8, 2023
Not a pictorial story but a representation of the scene of the Crucifixion itself: there is perspective and depth and the humans are more lifelike.
But there's still lots going on and it's a heavily stylised form of realism. pic.twitter.com/b12URMu1tr
By Jan Breughel the Elder (1598) – Flemish Baroque
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 8, 2023
The Italians used landscapes as a backdrop; in the Netherlands they were more important. Those brooding clouds and mountains add atmosphere as Breughel zooms out and gives a big, bustling, realistic idea of the whole scene. pic.twitter.com/TZ9rfNpLPb
By Giambattista Tiepolo (1750) – Rococo
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 8, 2023
Tiepolo channels Rococo theatricality. This was the age of opera, after all, and he had even helped design theatre sets. Fluid, full of movement and loose brushwork, it's excitable, agitated, and delicate… and perhaps a little too much. pic.twitter.com/nqkzcykEL4
By Edvard Munch (1900) – Expressionism
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 8, 2023
Unconstrained by realism, Munch casts off modelling or depth and embraces swirling blocks of vivid colour.
New? Maybe. A return to Gothic freedom, but channelled differently: Munch was expressing psychological intensity and emotion. pic.twitter.com/96A7rVWKS9
By Salvador Dalí (1954) – Surrealism
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) April 8, 2023
After WWII Dalí entered his "nuclear mysticism" phase, fascinated both by Catholicism and nuclear physics. Strange, dreamlike, ambiguous, and impossible – but all realistically portrayed. That's Surrealism. pic.twitter.com/LHGKe8jw5v
