Christ on the Cross between Mary and St John

Keeling in prayer beneath the cross are the tiny figures of the unknown couple who donated this crucifixion panel, which would have hung above the family tomb in a Regensburg church or cloister. At the foot of the cross, where in other such works one finds the skull of Adam, said to have been buried at Golgotha and whose sins Christ atones for by his death, is their coat of arms, with a hexagram. On either side of Christ, who is represented not in an idealised manner but with the signs of his injuries, the landscape stretches away into the far distance.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 3 minutes): Guillaume Dufay: Hymn for Easter