3-042-368 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Leaf from Ms. Ludwig II 7 with The Crucifixion, 1615. Additional Info: This illuminated leaf depicts the Christian story of Christ’s Crucifixion. The cross with its wooden grain clearly indicated provides a strong vertical and horizontal component for the composition, which is then visually belied by the off-kilter crossbar above. To Christ's sides, figures with the sponge and lance peep out from behind the more dominant figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John. Crowning the whole and bursting the bounds of the decorative frame is a colorful vision of the pelican feeding her young by piercing her own breast, which serves as a symbol of Christ's self-sacrifice for humanity’s sins. The leaf was once part of the illustrated prefatory cycle of a Gospel book that was made in 1615 in Isfahan, Persia, and illustrated by the famous Armenian artist, Mesrop of Khizan.