The Crucifixion with Donors
- Artist: Ugolino di Nerio (Artists)act.(Life dates)
- Date: 1317-27
- Medium: tempera on panel
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “The Crucifixion with Donors” by Ugolino di Nerio. Painted between 1317 and 1327, this tempera on panel is a tiny window into a much larger world. Ugolino was a leading figure in Siena and Florence during the early 14th century, and he often received commissions for church altarpieces. This panel was almost certainly part of a larger altarpiece – a predella, those lower panels that supported the main scene. The composition shows Christ on the cross at the center, but the real intrigue lies in the foreground: a kneeling Carmelite friar in a white cloak, a woman, and a young boy. Their poses and garments suggest they were the donors who funded the altarpiece, a common practice at the time to show piety and patronage. The delicate tempera technique gives the figures a luminous quality, while the overall layout reflects the early Gothic style that Ugolino was known for. It’s a fascinating glimpse of medieval devotional art, where donors and saints coexist on a single panel, telling a story of faith, charity, and artistic skill.
See it in person
The Crucifixion with Donors hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
