Grunewald, 'The Crucifixion' from the Isenheim Altarpiece, c.1516

The Crucifixion by Matthias Grunewald ~ Bread for Beggars

My eye is instantly drawn to the agonised suffering displayed on Christ's body. As he is shown in the centre of the painting, it is hard to tear your eyes away from the emaciated body and try to take in the other figures around him. The way Grunewald has painted Jesus' hands is particularly striking; the way in which they grasp upwards to the heavens, straining as they take the weight of the body. 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' Perhaps Jesus has just spoken these lines in a last effort to end the pain, and with no answer, hope has been lost, signalled by the sudden droop of his head. Even his fingers look thin, adding to the feeling that he has been on the cross for what seems like an eternity. We want to rush into the canvas and free Jesus of this burden.

Grunewald's depiction of the human body is striking. We can see the straining tendons of muscle at Christ's exposed armpit. His mouth is sightly parted, perhaps suggesting that his last breath has just escaped his lips, hence Mary's utter despair to the far left of the painting. Or perhaps Jesus is struggling for that last breath, which links to the way his stomach is sucked in, highlighting the pain of simply breathing. The way his legs are turned in and knees knocking together shows the limpness he feels inside. And finally his feet are really what catch my eye, or rather his right foot on top. It almost looks broken at the ankle because of the unnatural position Grunewald has painted. It looks as though it has been forced into that position to be nailed. If you look closely, you can even see the straining of the ligaments on the ankle, amplifying the agony. Grunewald has painted the truth here, and has not used art to cover up any of the finer details.

Grunewald uses a dark background to really make the crucifixion pop out and then emphasises this with his use of colour. Christ looks deathly, his skin tinged with greens and yellows. Moreover, these colours suggests dirt ingrained into his skin, which is emphasised by the dark, chiaroscuro shadows on his body. From his crown of thorns, there are clear punctures in the skin and the sea of sickly yellow is only interrupted by flecks of blood, red and freshly dripping down the contours of his body. As we look at this painting, whether religious or not, our faces mirror those of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, pleading to anyone at all to make it stop. Even though we know how this story ends, we still want to interfere and save Christ from this suffering.

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