(b. 1613, Venezia, d. 1678, Venezia)
Oil on canvas, 205 x 131 cm
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
Giulio Carpioni was initially a pupil of Alessandro Varotari, known as 'Il Padovanino', who, in the early years of the seventeenth century, had reacted to the mortifying conformism of the late Mannerists by returning to the classicism of the young Titian for his inspiration. Carpioni subsequently refined the intentions of his master still further in a sort of ideal classic style through the polished sharpness of his line and the cold, brilliant range of colours he used. In his Crucifixion the devotional aims are conveyed through an atmosphere of abstract, formal severity.