Christ on the cross, Saint John the Baptist at right, Mary Magdelene and the Virgin at left, after Reni

Christ on the cross, Saint John the Baptist at right, Mary Magdelene and the Virgin at left, after Reni by Gian Battista Bolognini. The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951

Created in 1688 during the Baroque period, this work belongs firmly within the religion & mythology tradition. Gian Battista Bolognini worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.

Executed in Etching, measuring Sheet (Trimmed): 16 5/16 × 11 1/4 in. (41.4 × 28.6 cm), the surface rewards close looking. Gian Battista Bolognini builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.

“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”