This work of tragic grandeur exposes Christ on the cross against a livid sky, underlining the desolate solitude of the drama of his execution and death. A cold light strikes the naked body and the large baroque drape that wraps around his waist, twisting as if shaken by the wind. He is still alive, his suffering face, streaked with blood, is turned towards the sky. Blood also flows from the wounds of the wrists and feet. Flashes of light surround the head crowned with thorns. In the sky you can see the solar eclipse described by Luke in his Gospel. The rocky and bare landscape surrounding the cross, losing itself in the darkness of the background, expresses the dramatic dimension within which the painful emotionality of Christ is refracted. The painting was purchased by Carlo Felice in 1821. The attribution to the Flemish artist has never been discussed, on the contrary, some critics are convinced that it is the only surviving autograph crucifix executed in the Italian years of Van Dick.
