The ''Crucifixion with Mary Magdalene'' (sometimes called the "Pazzi Crucifixion") is a fresco of c. 1495 of the

Crucifixion of Christ The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and considere ...

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

in the chapter house of the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. It is his most notable work in Florence. It was a commission from the Pucci family - Antonio Billi's account book reports Dionigi and Giovanna Pucci commissioning a work from "Master Piero della Pieve a Chastello, a Perugian" on 20 November 1493 and paying 55 gold ducats on its completion on 20 April 1496. The central panel shows

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

(to whom the monastery church was dedicated in 1257) in prayer at the foot of the cross. The left panel shows the Virgin Mary with Saint Bernard (a major leader in the reform of Benedictine monasticism that caused the formation of the Cistercian order) and the right one shows

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...

with

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

. The three tall trees behind St Bernard may symbolise the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. A fourth panel on the north wall (the others are on the east wall) shows Christ lowering himself from the cross to hold the hands of St Bernard. The work is also mentioned in 16th century sources, although it was forgotten after the monastery passed to Carmelite nuns in 1628. In 1867 the nuns moved out and the convent was abandoned, leading to the rediscovery of the fresco.

Bibliography (in Italian)

*Vittoria Garibaldi, ''Perugino'', in ''Pittori del Rinascimento'', Scala, Florence, 2004 *Pierluigi De Vecchi, Elda Cerchiari, ''I tempi dell'arte'', volume 2,

Bompiani Bompiani is an Italian publishing house based in Milan. It was founded in 1929 by Valentino Bompiani. In 1990, Bompiani became part of the RCS MediaGroup. It was sold in 2015 to the Giunti Group. It is widely regarded as one of the leading literar ...

, Milan, 1999
Entry on Polomuseale.firenze.it
{{15C-painting-stub 1495 paintings Paintings by Pietro Perugino Paintings depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus Church frescos in Florence

Paintings of Benedict of Nursia