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The fifth relief of the narrative cycle depicts the Crucifixion. It affords the clearest illustration of the means by which the compositions of the Pisa pulpit were, at Siena, brought into conformity with Gothic taste. In this scene, the Christ retains its prominence, but the fainting Virgin is represented with head in profile and arm hanging down, and her body forms a single unit with that of the woman at her side; the rhythmic pattern is completed by the complementary form of St John, no longer gazing at the Saviour on the Cross, but shown with his head resting on his hand like a figure in some French Gothic manuscript or ivory.
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