3-035-691 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Christ on the Cross with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist, and Saint Catherine of Siena in Adoration, about 1570. Additional Info: Against an open, hilly landscape, the lifeless body of Christ hangs from a wood cross, his slumped head, open mouth and tense muscles capture the dramatic moment of his death. The monumental figures of the Virgin (left) and Saint John the Evangelist (right) stand at his side and in the lower right corner of the painting appears Saint Catherine of Siena, the eminent fourteenth-century female member of the Dominican Order. Hands folded in prayer with the wounds of her stigmata visible on her palms, the Saint is depicted half-length, holding a lily (symbol of purity) and a small crucifix.