The crucifixion with the virgin, St John, the Apostle Peter and a donor

The Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St. John, the Apostle Peter and the Donor is attributed as the early work of Bosch (1480—1485). The centre of the composition is traditionally the cross with the Saviour crucified on it, surrounded by the monumental figures of Virgin Mary and St. John (left), and the Apostle Peter (right). The kneeling donor, the customer of the painting, is depicted next to Peter. Researchers even called his alleged name — Peter van Os, one of the high-ranking residents of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the homeland of Hieronymus Bosch. His two-tone outfit with vertical stripes, fashionable in the late Middle Ages, is called miparti (in French and Latin “mi-parti” means “halved”). A similar vertical colour division appeared in European fashion in the 12th century, and after the 16th century, it was only preserved in clownish clothes. The donor’s particular pallor and aloof look made scientists assume that at the time of painting the picture, he was no longer alive.

The foreground is replete with signs of caducity. A skull and scattered bones; a nail driven into the base of the cross; a crow waiting for someone’s imminent death; fruitless hollow tree — these symbols would appear in Bosch’s paintings later as well.
A special merit of the picture is the landscape painted by Bosch with account taken of the light-air perspective: the winding paths with the figures of wanderers, a mill, trees, cathedral spiers and rooftops. This landscape could well be a real view of ’s-Hertogenbosch, this city is notable for the grandiose Cathedral of St. John and the fact that the whole earthly life of Hieronymus Bosch passed here.

Written by Anna Vcherashniaya