'The Crucifixion', Michael Rothenstein

Artwork details

Artist

Michael Rothenstein (1908‑1993)

Title

The Crucifixion

Date 1937

MediumOil paint on plywood

Dimensionssupport: 1016 x 762 mm frame: 1203 x 946 x 84 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Presented by Mr and Mrs Ellis Roberts 1939

Reference

N05046

Not on display

Display caption

This ambitious figure painting was exhibited at Rothenstein's first one-person show at the Matthiesen Gallery in 1938. It was one of several Biblical scenes in modern dress painted at that time, perhaps under the influence of Stanley Spencer. The elongated limbs and expressive faces of the figures are reminiscent of El Greco (1541-1614) who developed a personal mystical style of religious painting using distortion and sharp colour contrasts. From the late 1930s onwards, for a number of contemporary artists, the theme of the Crucifixion increased in significance as a metaphor for human cruelty… (read more)

September 2004